National Health Care Trends Continue to Include a Number of Walk In Clinic Options

All minor illnesses seem important when they involve your children. In fact, when it is the middle of a week night or early on a Sunday morning, it is important to make sure that you get the answers that you need. Whether you are dealing with a sore throat that looks like it could be strep or you are in need of pediatric care after a rough afternoon on the soccer field, getting the care that you need for minor illnesses and injuries is often best handled at a local pediatric care walk in clinic.

Emergency healthcare services are great when they are needed, but going to the emergency room when it is unnecessary is expensive and time consuming. The fact that hospital emergency rooms are where the most serious cases are taken means that if you go in for minor illnesses or injuries you may have to wait a very long time to get the care that you need. The fact of the matter is that you can get affordable effective treatments at a less expensive and more convenient walk in clinic. The decision to go to a convenient medical treatment facility is a decision that shows you value your time, your money, and your health.

Consider some of these facts and figures about the latest and most convenient health care trends that allow patients to get the help that they need:

• 27% of U.S. patients reported in 2016 that they had visited an urgent care center in the last 24 months.
• The most common illnesses diagnosed at urgent care centers in 2015 were acute upper respiratory infection, acute sinusitis, acute pharyngitis, cough, and acute bronchitis, according to the Urgent Care Association of America’s 2016 Benchmarking Report.
• An indicator of health consumers making the right decision when they visit an urgent care center, only 3% of patients who come to an urgent care center need to be diverted to an emergency department, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.
• 70% of hospital emergency room visits involving patients with consumer-sponsored insurance coverage are for non-emergency or preventable conditions. These are visits that are more expensive than they need to be.
• 92% of urgent care centers maintained wait times of 30 minutes or less in the year 2015, according to the Urgent Care Association of America’s 2016 Benchmarking Report.
• Urgent care centers reported seeing an average of nearly 12,000 patients in the 2015 fiscal year. This number translates into an average of three patient care visits every hour or 32 visits each day.

Today’s consumer needs to realize that it is not only important to make sure that you look for best deals when you are shopping for clothing, cars, and groceries. It is also essential that consumers look for their best health care options whenever they need to seek treatment for minor illnesses and injuries.