While the merits of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act are debatable, it did highlight one stark fact of American life today: our healthcare system is pushed to its limits. Between high costs, overflowing facilities, and inefficient record-keeping, it’s clear that our health care system is in dire need of repair or complete overhaul. In the United States, only 29% of primary care doctors have after hours urgent care coverage. That means if you face an emergency after working hours, your only option is an emergency department. However, from 2003 through 2009, the mean wait time in U.S. emergency departments (EDs) increased 25%, from 46.5 minutes to 58.1 minutes. If you face an emergency, can you afford to wait that long?

Wait time isn’t the only factor affecting the quality of urgent care facilities, however. In 2009, 78% of visits occurred in EDs that reported boarding admitted patients in hallways and in other spaces while waiting for an inpatient bed to become available. Overcrowding is an increasingly common problem in almost every hospital or walk in health clinic in America. If you face an emergency, what are your options? If that emergency happens to be STD testing, you’re in luck: fast STD testing is now available in many specialized clinics.

STD testing can be a nerve-wracking ordeal. If you are concerned that you might be infected with an STD, you can’t wait days or weeks for results. To help meet the needs of patients who suspect that they might be infected with an STD, many specialized STD testing clinics are now appearing in major cities across America. To avoid the long lines and overcrowded facilities of hospitals, these clinics have a streamlined and efficient method for fast STD testing. Many of these clinics even offer same day STD testing for emergencies.

The data is clear: STDs are a major American health problem. Recent reports compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Infection estimate that there are 19.7 million new STD cases every year in the U.S. alone. STDs are more common than you might think. In fact, the CDC reports that more than half of all people in America will have an STD or STI at some point during their lifetime. If you suspect that you might have an STD, don’t suffer long waits or expensive health care in traditional doctor’s offices. Find a fast STD testing center near you and put your mind at ease.