More than three fourths of all urgent care patients have a wait of 15 minutes or less according to the Urgent Care Association of America. If you have to schedule a doctors visit, you will be lucky to get in the same day in some practices. Also, by visiting an urgent care nearby, you can save significant inconvenience from waiting in the emergency room for minor injuries.

With almost all minor illnesses and minor health issues, you can avoid waiting for emergency room services for any after hour treatments. The simple convenience of being able to see a doctor with little or no advance notice is everything when you are coming down with a virus or a nasty cold. When your doctor is not open or available, these ailments are sometimes not serious enough for emergency room care, but too uncomfortable to wait for the doctors office to open.

It is estimated that more than 30 percent of all U.S. emergency room visits could have been avoided with a faster and more affordable visit to an after hours clinic. You no longer need the emergency room number. Typically, each urgent care nearby has the diagnostic equipment for general lab work, xrays or common types of testing. For sprains or suspected breaks, you can save hours by visiting urgent care versus the emergency room.

One of the other advantages of using an urgent care facility is the flexibility of scheduling various minor things, such as vaccinations and physicals. For those that need a flu shot annually, you may face a wait if you schedule it with your primary care physician, but the doctors at the urgent care facility can provide them almost immediately. Also, things like childrens yearly sports physicals can be obtained relatively quickly.

While there are generally sufficient facilities for urgent care nearby, there is still an ongoing expansion. The Urgent Care Association of America estimates another 9,000 urgent care facilities are in position to expand. That means that your ability to get after hours care or minor emergency treatment will only get better as the facilities grow in number throughout the U.S. You no longer need to keep the emergency room number on speed dial as you have access to quicker treatment. Helpful sites: www.immediateclinic.com