11015 N Oracle Rd # 121, Oro Valley, AZ 85737

5590 E River Rd, Suite 150, Tucson, AZ 85750

Why Is Urgent Care Faster than the ER?

Why Is Urgent Care Faster than the ER?

The patient being treated by a doctor at urgent care

An urgent care center is a medical center designed to treat people who need medical attention but don’t require the whole emergency room experience. They are perfect for medical needs that aren’t genuinely life-threatening, and they’re also great for those who want a more convenient alternative to packed emergency rooms. A patient will often find urgent care faster than the emergency room to help treat medical needs. At Immediate Care Clinic, we provide fast pace urgent care in Oro Valley as a faster, more convenient alternative to crowded emergency rooms.

Many patients wonder, “Is urgent care faster than the ER?” The answer is yes, especially at ImmediateCare Arizona. Our urgent care in Tucson is structured to minimize wait times and maximize efficiency, allowing you to get treated quickly and comfortably.

Patients Can be Seen Faster

Urgent care typically has smaller amounts of patients, and those patients suffer less complicated and non-life-threatening situations than medical emergencies found in an emergency room. Typically, 50% of patients that visit an urgent care medical facility had a wait time of fewer than 15 minutes. In larger populated areas, there are even urgent care networks that pride themselves in being seen quickly.

For patients searching for the nearest urgent care to me in Tucson, our location is easy to reach and equipped with experienced medical staff. We pride ourselves on delivering efficient, high-quality care without the delays of emergency departments.

An emergency room has more physicians, nurses, departments, labs, and usually a whole hospital of patients needing care. When complicated or harrowing situations arise, it can take longer to get the right doctor to provide an opinion on the matter or receive labs back promptly. These things all increase delays with emergency rooms.

No Appointment Needed at Urgent Medical Center Facility

Back in the day, everyone needed to make an appointment with their primary care physician to receive urgent medical treatment. This need results in scheduled patients being bumped, long delays in the waiting rooms, or even routine healthcare being rescheduled. In centuries past, urgent care from a physician meant they were making a house call after hours and on the weekends. Today, urgent care facilities relieve much of this.

No appointments are needed, and they are usually open very early in the morning and very late at night. For an annoying medical issue, visiting an urgent medical center facility can allow you to receive treatment and a care plan the same day. Depending on the severity of the case, they still might want you to follow up with the primary doctor.

Cheaper Co-Pays than the Emergency Room

Those with medical insurance find that the co-pays for visiting an urgent medical care facility to be cheaper than one they would receive from the emergency room. In addition, there is a high chance that the patient will only be dealing with one doctor, one department, and one lab, meaning more predictable and possibly less costly follow-up bills arrive.

If you’re in a non-life-threatening medical situation, or your child needs to be seen by a doctor after work hours, don’t hesitate to visit an urgent care facility. As always, if you’re experiencing a life-threatening emergency, dial 9-1-1 instead.