You were simply trying to go watch your granddaughter play in her last two soccer games of the season, but before you even took your seat you had slipped on the wet grass and fell. Your nose hit your right knee and the fact that you were on blood thinner meant that you were a bloody mess within seconds.
At the age of 85 when you fall it is always a concern. When you fall, hit your nose, and start bleeding uncontrollably it is a very big concern. You and your wife briefly thought about going to a nearby urgent care clinic, but you feared your nose was broken and if you wanted a chance to see top doctors on a Sunday afternoon, you would have better luck at a hospital emergency room. Although you know that an ER visit can be more expensive than a walk in clinic, you were pretty sure that this was a visit that merited the expense. The fact that you were bleeding so profusely, and the fact that you take blood thinners, merited a trip to the ER.
How Do You Decide If You Go to a Health Clinic or a Hospital Emergency Room?
Today’s patient needs to be a good consumer. It is important, for instance, to know when your condition merits the cost of visiting a hospital emergency room. And while no one would recommend that you ever take a risk when it comes to important health matters, many minor injuries and illnesses can more affordably be treated in a walk in emergency room. And while there are many times when it is worth the wait to get an appointment at your family physician’s office, a walk in urgent care clinic is often far more convenient.
Consider some of these facts and figures about the services that are offered at health care clinics in America and the times when that may be the best option.
- 20,000 physicians practice Urgent Care Medicine today, which means that you have a chance to find top doctors in these settings as well as hospitals and family physician’s offices.
- 3 million patients visit walk in clinics each week, according to the Urgent Care Association of America.
- 85% of urgent care centers are open seven days a week.
- The most common diagnosis in an urgent care center in the year 2012 was upper respiratory condition.
- The most common procedure in an urgent care center in the year 2012 was wound repair.
Whether you took a header at your granddaughter’s soccer game or you are in need of a flu shot, today’s consumer often spends time making a decision about where to get the care that you need. Fortunately, top doctors provide care in a variety of places, so while you are sometimes looking out for your finances, you are still able to get the quality care that you need and want.
