Why Urgent Care Centers Have Surged in Popularity

The cost of emergency room care has been in the public consciousness more often than ever. This is thanks to the efforts of insurance companies and politicians, both of which give this cost partial blame for the overall cost of health care in America. Since the next natural question is where to go other than the ER, urgent care centers have also risen in prominence. 

That's because most of the problems that emergency rooms handle aren't life-threatening emergencies. Instead, they're conditions that are a step below. They need to be taken care of before a traditional doctor can get to them, but they're not so pressing that they need the services of the ER. Urgent care centers handle these problems with ease and at a fraction of the cost.

Even though the original driver for the push towards urgent care centers was financial, people have learned that these clinics offer far more benefits. This has caused the concept to truly hit its stride in the health care market. Here are some reasons that people are starting to prefer them not only over emergency rooms, but over traditional doctor's offices as well:

Speed

There's no doubt that care is received faster when someone visits an urgent care center instead of a traditional doctor. The normal office requires making an appointment that may be a couple of weeks away. What still surprises some people is that an urgent care center is also faster than most emergency rooms. That's because the ER will typically let someone sit for hours – either in the waiting room or in back – if the ER determines that the condition is not life-threatening. An urgent care center, on the other hand, will typically see a walk-in patient within minutes.

Personal Service

The first visit to an urgent care clinic Jenkintown can seem much like the first visit to an ER when it comes to this – impersonal and perfunctory. However, those who make the clinic into their primary care provider will find that the doctors get to know them and their conditions. This makes it as good as going to a regular office in this regard.

Ongoing Care

One of the problems with going to emergency rooms has always been their refusal to provide ongoing treatment. With urgent care, this problem doesn't exist. Many people return to their urgent care doctors for prescription refills and other maintenance care, and they're greeted with smiles when they come in.