Have you ever had an accident that sent you to the emergency room in the evening? What about the times that you were sick but couldn’t take time off from work to visit a doctor? If these situations apply to you, you may have spent a ton of money at the emergency room, or you may have forgone medical care altogether. This can lead to a serious health issue later on if you’re not careful.
However, there is a solution that allows Americans to receive affordable medical care when they need it: using an urgent care clinic that offers after hour care. Walk-in clinics are often open for after hour care, and some even have doctors on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Want more insight into what urgent care centers can do for you? Here are some of the benefits of choosing a clinic when you can’t get to the doctor or the ER:
1. Trusted medical professionals. Some people may worry that going to a clinic means not getting the care that they need. However, clinics are staffed with the same medical professionals that you would see in a hospital or private practice. Doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and other medical personnel are all available and ready to help you in your time of need. And even if you don’t have an emergency illness, you can also visit a clinic to receive the recommended yearly physical.
2. Treatment, testing, and diagnosis. In addition to being fully staffed, many medical clinics are also state of the art facilities fully equipped to perform tests to diagnose your condition. In many clinics, your clinic doctor will have access to a full range of equipment for X-rays, MRI imaging, CT scans, and more. Some walk-in clinics even have laboratories where blood analysis can be completed. From there, a doctor in a clinic can make the most accurate diagnosis and offer you the best treatment possible — just like what you would receive at a hospital.
3. Accessible after hour care. This may be one of the biggest advantages to choosing an urgent care clinic, and one of the most popular reasons for why they are necessary. Offering after hour and 24 hour care helps patients who can’t miss work or school see a doctor about their illnesses or injuries. Additionally, a clinic can provide a less expensive alternative to the emergency room.
Have more questions about what a clinic can do for you? Be sure to visit one soon, or find out which urgent care centers are available in your area in case of a medical emergency. If you’ve visited a clinic before, tell us about it in the comments. Get more on this here: Nurse practitioners in san antonio tx