Your stomach pain has gotten worse over the last few hours, and you don?t know how to handle it. It is the weekend and you are not sure if you can wait until Monday morning to get into your primary physician?s office. You?re not sure if the pain warrants a visit to the local emergency care room. Are you left to sit in pain and wonder what abdominal pain causes are making you feel this way? Fortunately, you do have another option.
What are urgent care centers?
Urgent care centers are a third, and perhaps, more effective medical care option. Urgent care centers are a mix between your primary physician?s office and your local emergency care room. You don?t have to schedule an appointment, making it more convenient than your physician?s office. You also don?t have to sit in an overcrowded hospital for hours like the local emergency room.
24 hour urgent care locations are convenient, cost effective, and timely. Currently, there are approximately 9,300 walk in, standalone urgent care centers in the United States, and 50 to 100 new clinics open every year (numbers fluctuate with corporate buy overs, expansions, and consolidations). These after hour clinics are perfect for quick medical checkups and learning about abdominal pain causes.
Free up space in emergency rooms
Many people dread visiting the local emergency department, even if they are in a lot of pain. Emergency rooms are often overcrowded and you can be forced to wait for many hours, before receiving medical treatment. Urgent care centers might be the answer to emptying the emergency rooms and leaving them open for real emergencies. According to a report from Truven Health Analytics, more than 70% of emergency department visits from patients with consumer sponsored insurance coverage is for non emergency conditions or conditions easily prevents through simple outpatient care. Urgent care centers have the ability to improve the treatment of emergency centers.
Cost efficient medical care
One of the most common reasons that patients wait for an appointment with their medical provider is to avoid the high costs of emergency medical care. An urgent care center may also be the solution to this problem. Patients no longer have to wait for medical care, because of costs. An urgent care treatable case handled in a hospital emergency room costs an average of $2,039, while the same case treated in an urgent care facility would run approximately $226. Patients can still get effective medical treatment for abdominal pain causes or other types of pains, without going into debt.
Quicker access to medical care
For some patients, even those with severe abdominal pain causes may find it more effective to wait until they can get into their primary physician?s office. Being forced to sit in an emergency waiting room for hours does not sound appealing to most. The average patient per hour for urgent care physicians is 4.5 patients per hour, according to the American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine. This will vary on the severity or acuity of the patient?s conditions. These numbers, however, are much higher than the number of patients seen, on average, in an emergency medical setting. This increase in time is also very beneficial for parents that need after hours pediatrics care.
There has been a gap in medical care for many years. If you experience medical symptoms after normal physician office hours, you are forced to make the decision between expensive emergency care or to wait until you can make an appointment. Urgent care centers have provided patients with the gap coverage they need. The urgent care medical model is more efficient, more affordable, and a better option for many people.