What Exactly Is Urgent Care?

 

Hospitals used to be local institutions that served one community, very accessible and staffed by doctors who lived within the neighborhood. Anyone who sprained an ankle or cut themselves could go to the emergency room and get quality care at a reasonable cost.

 

But times have evolved so much. Nowadays, hospital ERs have become incredibly busy. They are often even understaffed and overwhelmed by severe medical situations calling for immediate attention. If you get a sore throat or a minor burn and turn up at  any hospital ER today, you'll likely have to wait 30 to 60 minutes to talk to a doctor. If you try to get an appointment with your GP at his or her office, we know this waiting time could easily double.

 

This is when urgent care centers become indispensable. They are like the middleground between traditional hospital ERs and physicians'offices. The provide walk-in care, work extended hours, and treat you for medical conditions that are emergencies but not necessarily life-threatening. Here, you can see a doctor not needing an appointment, just as you can at an ER. In addition, these places usually work beyond typical office hours, 7 days a week. Th colorado springs urgent care centers know the plight of patients with medical needs that aren't too serious for the ER, yet more urgent than something you could wait an hour for to be seen by a doctor.

 

So when should you visit an urgent care center? The answer is simple, though many people still get confused: if you have an acute illness or injury. An acute illness or injury is a medical condition that requires urgent attention, but not severe enough to warrant going to the ER.

 

Of course, urgent care centers are also staffed by doctors that come to your house, their assistants, nurses and nurse practitioners, and almost other medical professionals you'll find in a hospital, including radiological technologists and even receptionists. Aside from providing urgent care, these centers also usually offer extra services, such as physical exams and travel vaccinations.

 

In the last two decades, there has been an increasing demand for urgent care centers nationwide. At present, there are at leas 9,000 urgent care facilities all across America, and more are opening each year by the hundreds. Look for more facts about health care at http://casualty.wikia.com/wiki/Health_care_assistant.

 

Though some urgent care centers are connected with certain hospitals, independent ones are just as many. In any case, you can be sure that the entire medical staff is fully trained and as experienced as their hospital counterparts.