Getting fast and efficient – and affordable, for that matter – medical care is of key and critical importance here in the United States. After all, medical care is something that can make life all the better in so many different ways. And getting to get this medical care as soon as you are in need of it is certainly something that you will greatly benefit from at the end of the day.
Your local urgent care clinic is likely to benefit you quite immensely, making it the perfect place to go for regular medical care. After all, urgent care centers are on the rise all throughout the United States. Already, the year of 2016 showed more than 7,000 urgent care locations just within this one country alone. In the years that have transpired since, it is only likely that this number has continued to grow. After all, there are now more than 20,000 doctors working at these urgent care clinics, with even more nurses and other such medical professionals.
But why has the relevance of the urgent care clinic grown so impressively and dramatically? For one thing, going to a local urgent care clinic is largely convenient. This is due to the fact that more than 80% of all walk in clinics are actually open each and every day of the week, often even on holidays. In addition to this, waiting times are also often very reasonable indeed. For instance, you’re likely not to wait more than half of an hour (on average) in more than 90% of all urgent care centers. And in more than half of all urgent care clinics, the average waiting time is no more than even a mere 15 minutes.
In addition to this, the average urgent care clinic is likely to be able to treat a wider variety of medical concerns than you might think possible of it. For instance, even some more serious injuries can be treated with ease at the typical urgent care clinic, as up to 80% of them (four out of every five) are capable of both diagnosing and treating fractures, provided that the fracture in question is not overly serious. Procedures like stitches and other forms of wound repair are commonly seen in the average urgent care clinic as well, something to keep in mind for everything from sports injuries to the injuries that you might sustain in the course of even just day to day living. After all, up to 25,000 different cases of ankle sprains will occur over the course of the typical day here in the United States alone, shows just how commonplace such injuries can be. And many of these ankle sprains, mostly caused by a simple inward rolling of the ankle, will be seen at a nearby urgent care clinic.
Preventative health care is also an offering at many an urgent care clinic. For instance, STD testing is provided at many health care clinics such as these all throughout the country. Knowing your STD status can influence not only your lifestyle choices, but many aspects of your personal life as well. Therefore going in for regular STD testing if you’re a sexually active person (specifically if you have multiple partners) is a hugely important thing to do.
Of course, various illnesses can be treated at these urgent care clinics as well. Cases of the flu are likely to be seen with a good deal of frequency here in the United States, as it is likely for up to one fifth of the total population of this country to become infected by the flu over the course of the season, particularly during bad years. But even during years when the flu is much more mild, at least around 5% of the population is likely to contract it. But getting an anti-viral treatment when you first develop the flu can seriously help to mitigate some of the serious effects of the flu, something that can be hugely beneficial in many ways. At the end of the day, getting your flu shot is also a good bet, something that can easily be done at your local urgent care clinic.