Before an emergency happens in your family, you should have a definite plan. Where’s your nearest hospital? Your family doctor’s contact information? Your nearest urgent care express center? Wait, the urgent care center isn’t in your plan? Why not? Here are the reasons your emergency plan should include information about your local urgent care clinic.

What Is Urgent Care?

Urgent care express centers are for small emergencies that may not be emergency room qualifications, but are urgent enough to be treated now. If you’re sick, but not enough to be admitted to the hospital, don’t be part of the 48% of people who go to the emergency room. The majority of urgent care centers are open before 9 am and after 7 pm, with some open 24 hours a day. If the doors are open, there’s a physician on site. Because of this, the majority of the roughly 450 patients a week only wait 15 minutes to get seen and the visit is usually concluded in less than an hour — true to the urgent care express name.

Urgent Care Facilities are Cheaper

While a visit to your urgent care center will cost more than a regular doctor’s visit, the experience will be less painful on your wallet than a trip to the emergency room. Most insurance plans cover some portion of the emergency room services, have a co-payment or deductible, and even an out of network charge. If you visit an ER for a non-emergency (something that isn’t life threatening), chances are your insurance won’t pay for it. Urgent care centers are usually included in insurance plans and shouldn’t cost you too much more than a doctor’s visit.

Myth: They Don’t Have What I Need

An urgent care clinic is basically a doctor’s office after hours. Most provide intravenous fluids and fracture care and 40% use electronic prescription ordering systems and can test you in their various labs and view the results electronically. Some symptoms that can be treated include: fever, sprains, painful urination, diarrhea, vomiting, severe sore throats, and more. Though if you’re familiar with the symptoms and have had recurring issues addressed by your primary care doctor, it’s best to try to schedule an appointment there.

Is that enough to convince you to add an urgent care express center to your family’s plan? For something non-life threatening, you’ll be saving time and money while getting the problems worked out; where can you go wrong?