It’s no secret that urgent care centers are growing in popularity. It seems that every town and city has begun seeing them pop up one after another, but why is that? Urgent care centers are changing the way that the world of medicine works, let’s find out how! 
Why Are Urgent Care Centers So Popular? 
Did you know that urgent care centers are one of the fastest growing branches of the medical industry? The last few years have seen rapid growth as patients begin to notice the perks of utilizing an urgent care center rather than an emergency room. A few of the most notable reasons why patients are choosing urgent care include: 

• Cost – urgent care centers provide high quality care at an affordable price. The exact same testing and treatment options of an emergency room are offered at a fraction of the cost you would find at an emergency room or even a primary care physician office. 
• Time – urgent care centers operate on a first come first serve basis. That means that you’re treated in the order you arrive. A traditional emergency room operates differently, seeing the most severe cases first. While this helps save lives, it leaves less-severe patients waiting for hours before they’re ever seen. Urgent care centers are helping to get patients seen faster and unclogging emergency rooms all at the same time. 
• Flexibility – urgent care centers are great for people needing care that they could get from their primary care physician but are unable to get due to their schedules. Urgent cares typically open early and stay open late so you can come by when it fits into your schedule. 

What Do Urgent Care Centers Do? 
The most common reasons to visit an urgent care include: 

• Stitches 
• Muscle strains
• Minor fractures
• Infections – ear infection, UTI, sinus infection, etc. 
• Common cold and flu
• Skin rashes and insect bites
• STD testing 
• Respiratory illness – bronchitis, pneumonia, allergies, asthma etc. 

Urgent care centers offer on-sight x-ray imaging, blood work, and much more! Unless you’re suffering from a life-threatening injury or illness, urgent care will likely be able to give you the care that you need. 
Next time you’re in need of injury care or illness care visit your local AFC Urgent Care! Look online to find the nearest urgent care center to you and learn more about hours of operation and services offered.