Urgent cares are a type of medical center designed to be somewhere between a doctor’s office and an emergency room. While the urgent care phenomena is still a relatively new one, urgent cares are quickly becoming the most convenient and widely used type of medical center. If you have yet to visit an urgent care center, or just want to know more about them, here are some things you may not have known about the newest type of medical care.

There’s No Need to Make an Appointment

Calling your primary doctor can sometime give back frustrating results. If you need immediate care, but your doctor is unavailable for an appointment, check out your local urgent care walk in clinic. Most clinics will be able to see you the very same day you walk in, and most patients only have to wait 15 minutes to an hour to get seen.

You Don’t Need Insurance

Unlike a doctor’s office, most urgent care walk in clinics do not require you to have insurance to get treated. If you need immediate care, but can’t afford a trip to the ER, an urgent care facility is a great way to get seen by a doctor without having to break your bank. And if you are insured, the clinic will most likely be able to take it, saving you even more.

They are Professionals

The staff at your local urgent care medical center are fully trained, and know exactly what they are doing. Most urgent care facilities have at least one doctor on duty at all time, and also staff a variety of fully trained, professional nurse practitioners and doctor’s assistance. Urgent care centers also keep their medical supplies fully stocked at all times, so you can get all the care you need without having to make a visit to your doctor or the ER.