Are you aware of a community health clinic in your area? Some of these clinics may provide access to after hours urgent care, which can be beneficial if you or someone in your family becomes ill or injured after regular business hours. Rather than visiting a traditional hospital emergency room, where it may take you hours to be seen, it makes sense to walk into a local after hours urgent care facility instead.

During the years of 2003 and 2009, for example, the time it took to see an emergency room doctor, or another type of practitioner, increased about 25%. Previously, the mean time went from 46.5 minutes to 58.1 minutes. If you’ve been in an emergency waiting room recently, or know someone that has, there’s a good chance that the waiting time was even longer for an issue that could have been seen at an after hours urgent care center instead.

While it will depend on the services received at a hospital emergency room, the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey reported some recent data. The average visit will usually cost $1,318.00, with a mean cost of $615.00. Visiting a low cost health clinic will, of course, cost less than a hospital emergency room. In some locations, free health clinics may be available as well.

In addition to there being health clinics that provide women’s services, there are also health clinics for children. Family care physicians are also available, which can be particularly beneficial if everyone has come down with the flu or another type of contagious disease.

Since appointments aren’t needed in advance, this makes having access to quality urgent medical care an excellent alternative to traditional hospital emergency room visits. Furthermore, when you or someone in your family aren’t feeling well or have received a cut that needs stitches, it makes sense to seek immediate medical attention. For any situation that you may think will just run its course, such as a bad chest cold or sinus infection, why not walk into a local health clinic to have it evaluated and treated? Your health is important, and the sooner you receive treatment, the better you’ll feel.