People often confuse emergency rooms as one and the same as urgent care clinics. This is not true; follow along as we debunk the top myths about urgent care clinics. You’ll soon learn that urgent care clinics are just as capable and reliable as emergency rooms and hospitals when it comes to providing quality care.
Urgent Care Centers Don’t Provide Specialized Services or Doctors
Urgent care centers can staff doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and other medical specialists depending on the location and size of the clinic. AFC Urgent Care, among other facilities, offers family services, women’s health services, sports physicals, children’s urgent care services, etc. While these clinics cannot handle critical or life-threatening injuries, they can handle other situations that require prompt care.
You Can’t Walk In; You Need an Appointment
The point of an urgent care clinic is to meet the needs of the community they are based in without the reputation of needing an appointment. AFC Urgent Care Raleigh prefers that you make appointments online or through our app; otherwise, you are free to walk in the same day. Most urgent care patients come from walk-ins and rarely from a same-day appointment, although possible.
The Wait and Payment at Urgent Care Is Just as Bad as Emergency Rooms
This myth may be the biggest lie of them all. ER wait times are close to one hour or more, and you need to wait in a room with many sick people, while you’d only wait around 20 minutes at urgent care centers. A singular ER visit could cost upward of $1,000; on the other hand, urgent care is more likely to be paid off by your insurance after a copay (depending on your insurance plan).
Only a Hospital Can Provide Testing and Screenings
This myth is far from the truth. At AFC Urgent Care, 80% of our patients require rapid testing, drug testing, STD testing, X-rays, or flu shots. Many urgent care facilities around the nation can test in their own laboratories.
Urgent Care Is Only Open for 8 Hours and Sends Patients to the ER Anyway
AFC Urgent Care is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-8 p.m., and Saturday-Sunday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. While these clinics are not open 24 hours, unlike an ER, they are still open 12 hours, leaving enough time for most people to have an appointment or walk in. The only time you will be sent to the ER is if the situation escalates into an emergency or it was already presented as one upon arrival.
After debunking the top myths about urgent care clinics, do you feel better about choosing a facility? Many of the popular myths you hear are indeed false. If you ever have questions about your local clinic, do not hesitate to call and ask; they would be happy to help you. It is important to understand all the medical facility options available to you and your family to get the best care.
