Today in the United States, our culture and technology are expanding every single day. This technology changes how we interact with our every day lives in the form of communication, intelligence, awareness, and efficiency. One of the best ways to examine this is to look at the field of medicine and the rapidly growing business world of Urgent Care facilities.
While they are becoming more popular by the day, emergency medical and urgent services are clouded by myths. There are false facts that have circulated around about the family urgent care and this line of the walk-in urgent care. Here are some of the myths about emergency medical and urgent services, and why they are false.
They Do Not Have Good Doctors
This is one of the most commonly believed and circulated myth about emergency medical and urgent services. Right now there are 20,000 physicians across the United States that practice in Urgent Care Medicine, and the number is rapidly growing. This is happening because emergency medical and urgent services professionals have come to the realization that this is a strong market that represents this fast-growing medical field. Approximately 50% of all urgent care centers are owned by either one physician or a group of physicians.
Urgent Care Facilities Are Not Reliable
This myth is just as common as the false fact about the doctors. It is important to understand, however, that emergency medical and urgent services are quite reliable. In the year 2014, about 97% of all urgent care centers were open seven days a week, and about 99% are open at least four hours per day. Urgent care clinics contain, on average, about seven exam/treatment rooms. For emergency medical and urgent services, the average patient-per-hour ration is about 4.5 patients per hour, which means they are quite quick. Finally, the average emergency medical and urgent services clinic experienced an increase of 28 additional patients per month, so business is booming.
The ER and Urgent Care Clinic Are One In The Same
This is not only the most ridiculous myth to believe, but it is also the most costly myth to believe. Emergency room visits now number at about 110 million annually. In 2009, RAND Corp. conducted a study which revealed that 14% to 27% of all ED visits could have been handled by an Urgent Care clinic, which could save up to $4.4 billion a year in health costs. Another private study conducted by Milliman revealed that approximately 44% to 65% of all ER episodes could have been treated by Urgent Care clinics. An urgent care treatable case that was handled in a hospital emergency room costs an average of $2,039 while the same case treated in an Urgent Care facility would have only cost an estimated $226.
If you are someone who needs to seek out the help of emergency medical and urgent services, or an emergency room, then you should visit your local urgent care clinic. Obviously, if you are experiencing severe health problems that you believe could lead to death, then you need to visit an emergency room to get the serious help that you need. However, if you are involved with an illness or health concern that is minor, you will benefit by visiting an emergency medical and urgent services. There are an estimated 9,300 walk-in, stand-alone urgent care centers in the United States, and 50-100 new clinics opening every year.