We have all been there, trying to get a doctors appointment for a niggling cough but having to wait three weeks for the first appointment. We’ve fallen and need to wrap our sprain, but don’t want to handle the long lines of the emergency rooms. So what do you do? You head to an urgent care center!

These walk in clinics offer the medical experience of your family care physician, without the extra costs and hassles of the emergency room. These doctors and nurses specialize in acute injuries and illnesses and fill the vital gap when your doctor is not available for an appointment and you cannot wait to be seen. Here are some interesting facts and benefits of urgent care centers.

• About 85% of urgent care centers are open seven days a week, with 95% closing after 9 pm. So this means that no matter the time or day you become injured, you can go to your walk in clinic and get quickly treated!
• You save precious time when going to an urgent care center. Over 69% of urgent care centers have a wait time of less than 20 minutes, so you can quickly get your medicine and have more time for rest and relaxation!
• Urgent care centers are rising in popularity! With roughly two clinics opening every day, it is projected that there will be 15,000 centers nationwide by 2019. With the majority of walk in clinics located in suburban areas there is hope that more city centers will have easily accessible clinics.
• Your wallet will be happy when you go to urgent care! On average, patients who went to the ER would have spent $784 less and saved nearly three hours by going to an urgent care centers. Comparatively, the average insurance copay at an urgent care center ranges between $35 to $55.
• It is vital that you understand the difference between the words urgent and emergency; emergency rooms are more equipped for complex life and limb threatening situations whereas urgent care centers are more appropriate for smaller, acute illnesses such as respiratory infections or sprained bones.

Need to see a doctor? Come on down and visit our medical professionals at AFC Urgent Care!