Do you know where your local urgent care facility is located? If not, it may be time to learn. Urgent care centers are so beneficial that more and more Americans are using them every day rather than going to the emergency room or a doctor’s private practice. There are dozens of reasons that urgent care centers are favored; below are just a few:

Short Wait Time – Have you ever waited in a doctors office for half an hour to an hour just to see the physician for 10 minutes? At your local urgent care facility you won’t have that experience. At 60% of urgent care locations patients typically wait less than 15 minutes to see a physician. According to The Urgent Care Association of America, surveys show that 80% of all urgent care visits are 60 minutes or less. Not only do you not have to wait long to see a doctor, but the cost is usually much lower than if you were to to go an emergency room.

Large Appointment Availability – One thing that people all across the country really love about their local urgent care facility is the appointment availability. More than 66% of urgent care locations open for business before 9:00 am on weekdays, with 45.7% doing so on Saturday and 31.1% on Sunday. Over 90% of urgent care centers stay open until 7:00 pm or later on weeknights, with nearly half of them remaining open until 9:00 pm or later. With these hours parents don’t have to worry about taking a day off of work to get an appointment for their kids. Instead, they can go in before or after a day of work and see the doctor on their own time.

Variety of Services – For years, there was a stigma surrounding urgent care centers and exactly what they could and could not treat. That has been slowly disappearing for some time. Now, it’s common knowledge that you can go to an urgent care facility for anything from a sinus or ear infection, to strep throat testing, or fractures. Many urgent care centers now offer x-ray technology as well which can be extremely helpful with sports related injuries that often happen after private practices close and the only option is the emergency room.

The benefits that urgent care centers can offer you and your family are endless. Don’t hesitate to find out where your nearest urgent care facility is. You never know when you might need the short wait time, large appointment availability, and variety of services that your local urgent care facility can provide.