the Cost of Urgent Care Clinics

In November of 2007, my husband came down with a bad case of the flu. He worked in a restaurant, so he felt it necessary to call in. When he did, they told him that he had to come in or be fired. Being a medical student, he knew the dangers of working with food when you are that ill. He also knew that they couldn't fire him for missing work if he had a doctor's excuse.

Our doctor's office was closed, so we went to the local urgent care center. After filling out the medical history and insurance forms, we had about a 30 minute wait to be called back to an examination room. There is no triage in urgent care, so the nurse checked his weight and took his vitals. She asked the basic questions, like, "Why are you here?" Then, she left us to wait some more.

When we finally got to see a practitioner, it was actually a physician's assistant. He did a cursory examination. He checked my husband's eyes, ears, nose, throat and abdomen. He wrote an excuse and a prescription for an antiemetic and sent us on our way.

I've been to this urgent care center several times and it is usually very crowded. The wait here can be as long as in the emergency room. We were very blessed that we were seen after only a half hour instead of the three to four hour wait that is common there.

Like most medical facilities, this center was understaffed. This meant that any treatment my husband received would be as brief as possible. In fact, I've taken my toddler there and have been told there was nothing wrong with him, only to go to his own doctor the next day and find out he had a very severe ear infection.

An urgent care center is a cost-effective alternative to an emergency room visit when your condition is not life threatening; however, it is not an alternative to a primary care physician. If your condition is minor (I've seen people go in for head colds), wait until you can see your own doctor. You'll get better care from a person who knows you.