Are you asking yourself, “Is there a walk in clinic near me?”
When you have an illness, injury, infection or a medical need that you can’t wait until Monday (or later) to be seen by your primary care physician, but is not a medical emergency, it’s a good idea to ask yourself, “Is there a walk in clinic near me that could treat this medical issue?”
Your primary care physician is a great option for medical treatment, as long as you only need it Monday through Friday, between 8:00 and 5:00. Sometimes, your doctor can’t fit you in for several days or even weeks, leaving you in a real predicament when you need care right away. Yes, you have the option of visiting the emergency room when your doctor can’t see you but that’s a bummer. The emergency room is notorious for making you wait several hours to get even the simplest care. During that time, you’ll likely be exposed to all the other illnesses that the contagious people in the waiting room have. And then after you get the treatment you need, you also get a bill that might equal and arm and a leg.
If this is not a predicament that you would like to be part of, open your search bar and type, “Walk in clinic near me.” When you search “walk in clinic near me,” Google will use your geographic location to tell you which urgent care is nearest to you, and what their hours of business are (hint: urgent care hours are similar to emergency rooms. If they aren’t open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, you’ll find they’re at least open late in the evenings and weekends). While urgent care clinics have business hours similar to emergency rooms, the bill you get after you receive care will more closely resemble your primary care physician.
In addition to being the “best of both worlds” (we use that colloquialism loosely, since having to visit the doctors is generally not the best of any world), urgent care clinics are also able to provide treatments that your regular doctor cannot provide, yet at a lower cost than the ER. Below, we’ve put together a list of common medical issues that you might not have realized can be easily treated by an urgent care medical professional.
- When you have strep throat.
Having strep throat is miserable. Unfortunately, it’s also highly contagious. If you have strep throat, you need to get it treated right away, before it spreads to anyone else in your home. While you might not be able to get into your primary care physician the same day (which is how quickly you need to get yourself in front of a doctor), an urgent care facility can test and diagnose you with strep throat on the spot, and get you the treatment you need to get better right away. - When you need minor fracture care.
If you have a compound fracture (which means the bone is literally coming out of your body), you need to get yourself to the emergency room right away. If your injury involves your back or neck, it’s best to take it to the ER, right away. However, if you sustain a sprain, break, or fracture that isn’t sticking out of your body, you might actually be able to get treatment at your local urgent care. You might not realize that most urgent care facilities are equipped with x-ray technology to look at your injury, and provide you with a splint on site, much quicker than you’d be able to at an ER. - When you need flu treatment.
The flu is usually bad news. And no fun at all. The trick to getting over the flu as quickly as possible is getting a diagnosis and medication before it really sets in. You might not be able to get this treatment at your doctors fast enough, but an urgent care can test and treat you right away. - When you need stitches.
If you are bleeding profusely, go to the ER. However, if your cut is (relatively) minor, and only needs a couple sutures, you might find the care you need at urgent care, faster and less expensive than ER.
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