It is no wonder that urgent care centers are gaining in popularity, numbering nearly 9,000 and growing urgent care locations in the United States. Most, if not all, urgent care locations operate on a walk in basis, and generally have shorter wait times than emergency rooms. Not to mention the fact that they have more convenient hours than the office hours of most primary physicians.

Urgent care facilities concentrate on the evaluation and treatment of acutely arising conditions, for a wide range of patients. What this means is that they treat the injuries that need attention, but are not necessarily serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room. Urgent care locations would deal with a person whose hand needed stitches, whereas an emergency room should deal with the loss of a finger.

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