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Urgent Care Clinics Could Be the Cost Effective Alternative to Traditional Emergency Room Visits
Medical issues can be overwhelming. You’re not a medical expert. You know there’s an issue. You know you need professional medical attention, and you know you need it ASAP.
But then there’s the ominous cloud of astronomical deductibles, co-pays and medical bills. Of unforeseen expenses and the danger of stepping out of your standard budget and spending limit.
You’ve accounted for miscellaneous expenses. But who can account for medical expenses?
The Good News
The good news is there are plenty of medical issues and incidents that can – and often should – be diverted to lower-cost Urgent Care clinics in your local area.
Even as you shouldn’t take chances with severe or life-threatening complications, you have more options than you think.
Urgent Care centers offer treatments for routine issues and less serious conditions that are just as comprehensive as those employed in an ER – but they’re usually much less expensive.
Cut Costs Considerably
If you lack insurance coverage, it’s worth noting that out-of-pocket expenses at an Urgent Care center are often relatively minor. The cost of an immediate visit to your local Urgent Care clinic can be hundreds – even thousands – of dollars less than a visit to a trauma center or traditional emergency room.
If you do have coverage, your insurance company usually diverts a portion of the higher cost of emergency treatment by passing it off in your co-pay or deductible, leaving you with a considerably higher bill.
Let’s say your plan covers a trip to Urgent Care but calls for a $20 copay. That same medical plan may very well demand upwards of $100 to be treated in the emergency room. This applies to co-insurance percentages too.
Medical Treatment at an Urgent Care center is almost always less expensive – far less expensive – than at a Trauma Center or Emergency Room, regardless of plan coverage.
Urgent or Emergency?
Urgent Care clinics can effectively treat injuries that require stitches, numerous routine illnesses and various infections, bites, fevers, lacerations, pains, aches, and many others.
Certain issues, however, do call for emergency room treatment. Things like cardiac arrest, head traumas that cause loss of consciousness, symptoms of serious or chronic illnesses, or anything else that could lead directly to loss of life.
Emergency Rooms are open 24/7, which is hugely convenient. But Urgent Care clinics are almost always open long after the close of regular business hours, as well as on weekends.
Don’t Waste Any Time
Emergency Rooms follow standard hospital Triage procedures – which means they attend to your emergency according to its severity.
If you’re suffering from something relatively minor – you may end up waiting behind other patients with more serious or complicated issues to see a physician or an assistant.
Urgent Care services are often delivered as immediately as a practitioner or provider becomes available – getting you back out into your day without significant time lost.
So save your money and your time – consider visiting an Urgent Care center for routine medical treatment.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]