Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and felt that something was seriously medically wrong with you but it was the middle of the night and you could not go to your regular physicians office but did not think your ailment warranted an emergency room visit? Neither have I, but if you ever do now you can visit a 24 hr urgent care facility.

The Rand Corporation found in 2010 that one if five visits to hospital emergency rooms could have been treated at urgent care facilities. If those one in five visits were treated at an urgent medical care provider it could potentially save 4.4 billion dollars in health care costs.

An alternative to emergency room, 24 hr urgent care facilities can often treat you with a shorter wait time than a hospital emergency room visit. Urgent health care facilities operate on walk in care basis and have more convenient hours than your regular physicians office.

One thing that has spurred the growth of local urgent care facilities is the increasing caseload of primary care physicians. This increased caseload leads to difficult scheduling patients, decreased time spent with each patient, and longer wait times.

Ailments that people sometimes visit the emergency room for can be treated at an urgent care facility including sprains, fractures, gastrointestinal conditions, upper respiratory conditions, lacerations, and concussions. A 24 hr urgent care provider can treat any of these conditions at any time during the day.

In 2009 the Certified Urgent Care Center designation was created by the Urgent Care Association of America. This is a criteria that defines staffing requirements, hours of service, and scope of service. Regulations like these are important in any business.

Next time you need a doctors visit for a minor ailment, consider an urgent care facility.

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