The healthcare industry is going through a period of huge changes. After several decades when it looked like prices would never stop rising, Obamacare came along and caused an entirely new kind of disruption. Now, many people believe the insurance and healthcare industry is a confusing nightmare.
They aren’t wrong. So it’s little wonder that urgent care clinics, particularly doctors walk in clinics, have suddenly become so popular. Unfortunately, like all other new healthcare resources, there is a lot of confusion about how urgent clinic care really works.
Claim: Urgent Care Clinics Don’t Have Real Doctors
This one’s totally false. The vast majority of urgent care clinics are not only owned by doctors, but have a doctor on-site during all hours of operation. Already, more than 20,000 doctors practice urgent care medicine.
Claim: If My Primary Care Doctor Won’t See Me, I Should Go To The ER
There are only three reasons to go to the emergency department: your water just broke, you’re about to die, or you really like giant medical bills. Otherwise, 85% of doctors walk in clinics are open seven days a week, often as late as eight or nine at night.
Claim: I Have To Go To The ER For Fracture Care
False! The best doctors walk in clinics now offer services like fracture care, as well as treatments for most other non life threatening injuries. In fact, 4 out of 5 urgent care clinics offer fracture care today.
Claim: I Should Go To My Primary Care Physician For Preventative Medicine
There’s no right or wrong answer to this, but you should have all the facts. Unlike most emergency rooms, urgent care clinics offer a wide range of preventative health services, like vaccines.
Claim: There’s No Urgent Care Clinic Near Me
False again! Okay, so we don’t know this for certain, but with hundreds of new urgent care clinics opening every month, you’ll find a doctors walk in clinic in almost every city and county in the country. It’s part of a larger trend in healthcare where large hospitals are splitting up into smaller, community focused urgent care centers.
If you have more questions about the types of services offered at urgent medicine clinics near you, just call ahead or check their website for a complete listing. And while you should always go to the ER or call 911 in an emergency, these clinics are saving Americans millions in extra medical bills all the time.