Going to the urgent care has become the health care option of choice for many people who are unable to get into see their primary care doctor in a reasonable amount of time. It is not uncommon to have to wait weeks to get an appointment with a primary care physician. If you have bronchitis today seeing your doctor two weeks from now just won’t work. That leaves someone with three options: go to the emergency room, find an urgent care clinic or receive no medical care at all. Of those three options, urgent care seems to be the natural choice.

Urgent care clinics are great in some ways and not so great in others. On the plus side, you can be seen today. That alone is a huge plus! They are much better than going to the emergency room for non emergency care. They are great for minor cuts, minor trauma, a sore throat and similar types of medical care. Most health insurance plans have some sort of urgent care coverage and if you live an urban area finding a walk in clinic is not hard to do. Urgent care medical facilities most definitely their place in our health care system.

There are also certain types of care where an urgent care clinic is not the best option. You do not want to use one of these facilities for the management or treatment of chronic medical conditions. Chronic medical conditions require the attention of the same medical provider, frequently a primary care doctor. It is difficult to see the same physician everything you go to a walk in or urgent care clinic. The ongoing care and monitoring needed to treat chronic conditions is just not within the scope of care provided a urgent care. They are intended to serve that type of medical need.

The urgent care option is great for minor medical conditions that don’t require the emergency room. They are also good when you cannot wait two weeks to see your primary care doctor. The next time you find yourself in that middle ground, do yourself a favor and take advantage of an urgent care facility.