Approximately 60% of all urgent care centers have a wait time of 15 minutes or less to see a physician or mid-level healthcare provider. This is significant less than the average wait time at a traditional doctor’s office or the emergency room. Shorter wait times means wasting less time sitting in waiting room when you are ill or injured with other people, who are ill or injured. It means less time away from home or work and less time away from your family and friends.

Over 65% of all urgent care facilities have a physician on-site at all times. That means not having to wait for the physician to arrive to help you or talk to you about why you are there. This helps with the reduced wait time, and allows you to get treated and get out faster.

Of those that wait longer than 15 minutes, over 80% will wait less than an hour, which means the urgent care facility still has a shorter wait time than most doctors’ offices and emergency rooms. In addition to the reduced wait times, urgent care centers are open during non-business hours, which provides patients with more options.

The majority of urgent care facilities are open before 9 a.m. during the week and last than 7 p.m. Nearly half are open on Saturdays and over 30% are open on Sundays. The extended hours of operation allows you to see a physician without having to take time off work or take your kids out of school. It allows you to visit the doctor on your schedule instead of trying to fit into their schedule.

Nearly half of Emergency room patients admit they didn’t really need the emergency room, but their doctor’s office wasn’t open and they needed help. These are the people that would have benefited from an urgent care center. Half of all urgent care centers are owned by a physician or physician group, and they are using electronic records and prescription ordering systems, which allow for faster and more efficient service.

Many adults avoid seeking medical help because they do not want the expense of an ER visit, or they do not feel they can take the time off of work to go to their doctor’s office. Particularly, for those working an hourly position, going to the doctor is the expense of the visit plus the lost wages from leaving work. This makes healthcare unaffordable for many.

In many areas, making an appointment to see your primary care physician means waiting days or even weeks to see the doctor. This can be frustrating and counter-productive, if you are feeling better by the time the appointment finally comes around. These are some of the common complaints people have about being sick. Going to the doctor is just too expensive and time-consuming.

Urgent care centers address these problems by providing an affordable and fast option that is available mornings, evenings, and weekends. The more options a patient has, the more likely they are to get medical attention when they need it. This can help stop the spread of disease as they are getting treated faster and exposing less people to disease causing germs and viruses.

For many busy adults and parents, the urgent care center offers the ideal alternative for annual checkups, sports physicals, vaccines, and other routine visits. Again, the greatest advantage is being able to get these appointment done when it is convenient for you, opposed to the doctor’s office. Not having to set an appointment is also beneficial for people, who have crazy busy lives or unpredictable schedules. An appointment may have worked at the time it was made, but by the time it comes around, you are too busy to make it.