When it is minus five degrees outside, it takes a while for the old parts to start moving, as witnessed this morning by a limping furnace, a wheezing coffee pot and an arthritic dog. Fortunately, you were up early and had the time to wait for the coffee and the dog. What you have little patience for, however, is the furnace. In fact, before you even went into work this morning you made a call to the heating and cooling company that provided the installation of the now 10 year old system. You fear that it might be time for a replacement, but you are holding out a little bit of hope that the news will not be dire.

You are also holding out a little bit of hope that this lingering cough is going to turn out to be nothing, but if you are not feeling better by the end of the day you are planning a stop at the closest urgent care facility. You have had the flu shot and you have been doing everything in your power to stay both hydrated and healthy, but a number of your coworkers have been out of the office for fly like symptoms lately.

Urgent Care Facility Locations Create Convenience for Patients

With urgent care locations easy to access in many parts of the country it should come as no surprise that there are a number of patients who chose this convenient option over going into a family physician or pediatrician. From flu shots to STD testing and from sports injuries to x-ray services, many urgent care facilities offer a full range of options. Without the need for an appointment and often less expensive than other options, an urgent care facility is an increasingly popular option for patients both with and without insurance. Some clinics, in fact, go so far as to post their prices for common procedures so that patients without insurance can anticipate the amount of money that they will need to spend. And in a time when more and more Americans have access to health insurance through the Affordable Care Act there are many who are trying to find a time efficient way to care for both minor illnesses and undiagnosed symptoms.

Consider some of these facts and figures about the many ways that an urgent care facility might the solution to the health problem that you are facing:

• The most common diagnosis in an urgent care center facility was upper respiratory condition, while the most common procedure was wound repair in 2012.
• Dizziness is the second most common complaint heard in doctor’s offices, and will occur in 70% of the nation’s population at sometime in their lives. Getting the immediate answers that you need from this common condition can allow you to continue on with your daily life without waiting hours to see a family physician or waiting weeks to get an appointment.
• It has been estimated, in fact, that 65% of individuals older than 60 years of age experience dizziness or loss of balance, sometimes on a daily basis, so it is important to have a treatment option that is affordable and convenient.
• An estimated 3 million patients visit walk in health clinics each week, according to the Urgent Care Association of America.
• With as many as 85% of urgent care centers are open seven days a week, there are currently more than 20,000 physicians who practice Urgent Care Medicine today and staff these important health options.
• As an answer to another common need of many patients, four out of five urgent care centers also provide fracture care.
• Urgent care clinics treat an estimated 89 million patients every year, and amazingly enough, as many as 70% of urgent care patients only wait 20 minutes before being seen by a provider.
• The U.S. workforce loses 17 million workdays as a result of the flu, so an early diagnosis is important.
• Unfortunately, one out of 10 Baby Boomers report that their physical activity is limited to a few days a month and, as a result, put themselves at risk for many kinds of chronic health conditions.
• Sore throats make up 13 million medical visits each year and can be easily treated.