6 Important Things to Know about Urgent Care Clinic

The convenience of receiving and providing care has grown in importance in today's healthcare system. Due to appointment scheduling issues, people are increasingly turning to urgent care clinics in addition to the emergency room.

Urgent Care Clinic has become increasingly popular during the past five years. Here are some quick facts regarding after-hours medical centers.

Clinics That Provide Urgent Treatment Are Distinct From Retail Clinics

Retail or walk-in clinics are usually located in grocery stores and drugstores. The clinic's doctors focus on minor disorders and prevention. Urgent care clinics treat diverse issues.

While emergency rooms are reserved for life-threatening emergencies, Walk-in clinic urgent care handles non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses without an appointment. Despite not being open 24/7, urgent care clinics are usually available when needed. In the US, urgent care clinics date back to the 1970s.

Reduce Burden on Emergency Rooms 

Many people attend the ER because they don't have a primary care physician or can't get an appointment. Minor illnesses like colds and X-rays can now be treated without a pricey emergency department visit. Insurance companies prefer urgent care clinics to the ER for non-emergencies.

Urgent Care have Shorter Patient Wait Time 

This is precisely why facilities offering urgent care were established. That's why there's no need to schedule an appointment in advance because the wait times at the clinics are so short. 

Physicians Prescribe Adequate Medications 

Antibiotics, short-term pain meds, once-a-year maintenance medications, allergy and asthma medications, antiviral medications, and medications for stomach disorders are just some of the pharmaceuticals that doctors can prescribe at Urgent Care Clinic that have pharmacies.

However, doctors in urgent care clinics won't be able to give certain prescriptions because they require monitoring or follow-up. Refills, opioids, long-term pain meds, and anxiety meds won't be anything they can dispense.

Millennials Above Primary Care prefer Urgent Care

According to a poll conducted by FAIR Health last year, young adults are increasingly using urgent care facilities. Consumers aged 45 and older were found to rely more on primary care providers, while those aged 18–34 and 35–44 were more likely to use urgent care clinics.

Make Sure to Distinguish Urgent Care From Primary Care

Many Americans who do utilize urgent care frequently have a primary care doctor. They see urgent care as an intermediate step between their regular doctor's office and the emergency room. Most patients who visit walk-in clinic urgent care do so because they either cannot get an appointment with their primary care physician, their primary care physician is unavailable, or both.

Conclusion

In 2015, a group of doctors and nurses with years of expertise in emergency rooms came together to form Urgent Care Clinic. Doctors and nurses rely on their backgrounds in our urgent care center to diagnose. Our clinics are ideally situated in western Houston and its surrounding areas. We offer walk-in treatment with extended after-hours for all non-life-threatening medical illnesses on evenings and weekends.