Urgent cares are popping up all over the U.S., and many people are recognizing the benefits of having these facilities readily available. These urgent care triage clinics provide similar services to those found in a hospital ER, and in your regular physician’s office.
Myths of Urgent Care
However, it is not uncommon for patients to have some misconceptions about urgent care centers. Let’s get the facts straight:
- Urgent Care Triage Centers Are Just Small Emergency Rooms
This is a common myth of urgent care. While this type of clinic does provide emergency aid, they are not capable of managing the same medical conditions that a hospital ER is fully equipped to handle. Urgent care walk-in clinics are intended for non-life-threatening ailments, such as a strep throat or a broken bone. - Urgent Care Is the Same as a Family Physician’s Office, Run by The Same Staff
All Urgent care clinics are staffed with doctors, nurses and other medical professionals with the same qualifications as your primary physician’s office. In fact, many are owned and operated by physicians with an outside practice, but that doesn’t mean all family doctors practice urgent care medicine. - Urgent Care Is Walk-In Only, No Appointments
You don’t need to make an appointment to visit an urgent care triage, but you do have the option to do so. In certain instances, like if you need lab work or a vaccination, the clinic may request that you schedule your appointment in advance. - Specialized Health Services are not Available at Urgent Care
All urgent care centers are different, but many independent healthcare clinics offer specialized medical services. Most commonly, these types of care include pediatric and women’s health solutions. - Urgent Care is Just a Trend
Actually, it appears that urgent care clinics are here to stay. Since more and more hospitals have closed (and are closing) across the country due to severe budget cuts, urgent care centers have provided a necessary solution. Recent statistics have shown that more than 9,300 emergency medical centers are currently operating in the United States alone.Remember, when it comes to urgent care triage, every clinic is unique in regards, to the specific services provided and hours of operations. Be sure to locate your nearest health clinic, debunk the myths about urgent centers, and find out what it really has to offer.