Here in the United States, urgent care centers have very much been on the rise since the first urgent care clinic opened its doors back in the year of 2000, now almost two full decades in the past. Nowadays, there are well over 7,000 urgent care locations found all throughout the country and these urgent care clinics are able to serve as many as three million people over the course of a single week. In addition to this, up to 20,000 doctors and various other medical professionals are not employed at walk in clinics all throughout the United States, a number that is only likely to increase as time passes on.
But why exactly has the typical urgent care location become so very desirable and oft frequented? For one thing, urgent care clinics and other such walk in clinics tend to be open far more frequently than your typical doctor’s office. As a matter of fact, up to a full 85% of such clinics are open every single day of the week. Urgent care locations are also often open earlier in the morning and later into the evening than the average doctor’s office will be, with some even open every single hour of the day and every single day of the week (though this only accounts for just over 30% of all walk in clinics at the current date).
The urgent care clinic is also a viable alternative to seeking care in your local emergency room. After all, a typical emergency room wait will span the course of at least a full hour, if not even more than that. At a walk-in clinic, on the other hand, the average wait time will not exceed even a half of an hour. In up to 60% of all walk-in clinics, the average wait time has even been able to be pared down to a mere 15 minutes. It is not uncommon for an urgent care patient to get in and out all within the span of just one hour.
The medical treatment that one can get from the typical walk-in medical clinic is also quite impressive – and often quite a bit more extensive than many people actually realize. After all, up to 80% of all urgent care locations are actually able to provide the diagnosis and treatment of fractures. Ankle sprains are also able to be treated at your typical walk-in medical care clinic, something that is certainly hugely ideal as up to 25,000 ankle sprains will occur over the course of just one day here in the United States.
Allergic reactions can also be treated, as can reactions in general. If you have a case of poison ivy, going to a walk in urgent care center can provide you with both a diagnosis and some level of relief. And poison ivy is certainly common, with up to 85% of the American population currently thought to be allergic to it. And poison ivy is even more common for the fact that it can be found in around 48 of the 50 states that make up this country – in other words, all of the continental United States.
Minor illnesses can also be diagnosed and treated, such as that of the common cold, which can sometimes appear to be another illness. After all, colds are so common that there are up to a full one billion cases each and every year in the United States alone. Children, who still have developing immune systems, get a great many of them. It is actually not uncommon for an otherwise healthy child to develop as many as ten total colds over the course of just one year. Fortunately, symptoms usually resolve on their own over the course of a few days or about a week.
The flu is also commonly seen in urgent care clinics throughout the country. After all, the flu typically infects no less than 5% of the population over the course of any given flu season here in the United States. Over the course of more serious flu seasons, it has actually been found that a full one fifth – around 20% – of the population can become infected.
