Category: Denver co urgent care

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5 Reasons to Head to Urgent Care Instead of the ER

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ER waiting rooms are stressful places. Nurses are frantic, patients are in pain, and time is ticking by as you wait for assistance.

Fortunately, there is an alternative. If your condition is not life-threatening, both the service and the cost will be much better if you choose to go to an urgent care center. Here are a few reasons urgent care facilities are far better than emergency rooms.

  1. Convenient Hours

    Many facilities offer after hours urgent care because, let?s face it, accidents and emergencies are an around-the-clock phenomenon. Urgent care facilities are open even after your primary care physician has gone home for the night. No appointments are necessary, just walk right in.

  2. Convenient Locations

    When you need quick care, do you feel comfortable driving to a hospital miles away? If you?re in serious pain, you will want to get treatment as soon as possible. Fortunately, urgent care facilities have recently popped up all over the place. If you live out in a remote area, chances are the nearest emergency medical center is an urgent care facility, not a big hospital.

  3. Variety of Services

    Urgent care facilities offer a lot more than just emergency services. They also offer family health care, anonymous STD testing for men and women, and routine physicals. Emergency rooms only treat life-threatening or serious injuries.

  4. Lower Cost

    According to the Medical Expenditure Panel, the average ER visitor pays total costs of around $1,318. The mean cost of an ER visit is $614. On the other hand, urgent care services are often much less expensive. In fact, the FAIR Health Consumer Group reported that typical urgent care costs are less than half of those you would pay at the ER for the very same service.

  5. Insurance Not Required

    Many Americans don?t have health insurance, which makes ER visits extremely pricey. Urgent care centers accept patients with or without health insurance, and always charge a fair price for the care received regardless of the insurance situation.

Emergency rooms in hospitals are essential for life-threatening emergencies; however, for less severe health issues, they are rarely worth the cost or the hassle. The mean wait time for the typical ER visitor has reached 58.1 minutes. That?s nearly an hour wait for emergency care. Getting in to see an urgent care physician takes a lot less time and is a lot less stressful.

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The Difference Between Clinics and Hospitals

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When a person is healthy, medical choices are distant, academic questions that are often pushed off for another day. No harm in doing so, a person would claim, pointing to a life devoid of much more than a cold. The reality is these decisions can be, at the bare minimum, a matter of inconvenience and lost time. In more extreme circumstances, the choices neglected can later be a matter of life and death. Better to educate yourself before something occurs to make it an urgent issue. One point of confusion for many is the difference between a hospital and a community health clinic, with many assumptions clouding the issue.

Hospitals

  • Can be privately owned or government institutions. Privately owned includes facilities that are owned by religious bodies, like those operated by the Catholic Church, or those that are for-profit businesses. Government institutions are often not as well-funded as their private counterparts, although that is not always true.
  • A hospital is designed to treat an acute illness or injury. Patients are admitted for treatment then discharged once their health allows. Treatment happens at a faster pace than can be managed in other environments.
  • Hospitals are expensive. This is a result of the level of care they provide and the facilities, equipment, and personnel required to do so effectively.

Walk In Health Clinic/Urgent Care Facilities

  • These medical facilities can be for-profit establishments or non-profit endeavors and take many different forms. They serve diverse populations and are becoming more common over time.
  • None of the various forms of clinics are equipped to treat life or death medical circumstances. They are, however, better able to maintain health over the long term. A neighborhood health clinic for children can provide vaccinations and the individualized, long-term attention that hospitals are not designed to provide.
  • Although many clinics are not free, they are still a less expensive option than hospitals. For those without insurance, taking a sick child to a health clinic for children can save hundreds of dollars.

Both clinics serve a specific need, but when a person is making decisions quickly about the appropriate response to a loved one being in distress, especially a child, the tendency to overreact becomes common. Except in extreme cases, this impulse is not only not necessary but costly. To prevent this, educate yourself about options in your area today. More on this topic. References.

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Advantages of Going to Urgent Care

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With the growing popularity of urgent care centers, many at least know they exist, but they haven’t actually looked into them. The truth is, there are numerous advantages to choosing one of these centers during your next emergency or illness.


Flexible Hours


About 48% of those seeking emergency room medical care didn’t actually need to be admitted to the hospital, but went because their regular doctors office was closed, according to the Centers for Disease Control.


Less Wait Time


Urgent care facilities are known for their prompt care. This is evidenced by the fact that most (60%) of patients wait less than 15 minutes to be admitted. In addition, about 80% of all visits are completed within an hour of arrival. At an ER, you will likely wait hours just to be admitted, let alone treated.


Cost Effective


Another thing these centers are known for is their cost effectiveness. You will receive expert care at just a fraction of what you would pay if you went to the ER. The ER can often cost hundreds of dollars for basic treatments, but these facilities will help you save money for larger issues.


Great Treatment


Roughly 65% of urgent cares have a physician on-site at all times, meaning they can provide expert care whenever you need to come in. Many centers are able to provide fracture care, in addition to hundreds of other treatments. They can also perform physicals, STD testing, hazmat screenings, and give flu shots.


Have you been to any urgent care centers? What was your experience like? Would you recommend it to a friend? We’d love to hear your thoughts!