In the event of a medical situation, it can be difficult to decide where you and your loved ones should go to seek medical care. In many cases, your local doctors office may be closed if someone is injured on a weekend or after normal business hours. Likewise, the ailment in question may not require emergency room care, making a visit to the hospital unnecessarily expensive and time-consuming. Fortunately, as more and more 24 hour urgent care clinics emerge around the country, this question becomes more easily answered: when you or a loved one has a non-life-threatening injury or illness, urgent care centers are often your best resource for accessing timely and affordable medical care.

Urgent care facilities are a relatively new addition to the healthcare industry, designed to help relieve the thousands of doctors offices and emergency rooms that face an overwhelming volume of patients every day. While they are only designed to provide immediate care for non-critical problems, they offer treatment for a variety of common medical issues. For example, an estimated 80.7% of urgent care clinics are equipped to provide care for bone fractures and splinting procedures. Moreover, like an emergency room, urgent care centers are required to be open for business 7 days a week, including weekends. Likewise, many operate as 24 hour urgent care clinics, making it possible for patients to access care at any time, day or night.

Due to their variety of services and quick treatments, urgent care centers offer a variety of benefits to their communities. In the United States, an estimated 80% of all urgent care visits are completed within an hour. Additionally, many clinics are now offering routine blood work, x rays, physical exams, and even employment-related drug testing. Furthermore, an estimated 50% of urgent care facilities in the U.S. are owned by physicians, helping guarantee that you and your loved ones can find quality medical care at an urgent care center. The next time you or someone you care about experiences a non-life-threatening medical condition, don’t worry and don’t wait: visit a local urgent care center. Get more here.