6 factors to choose top urgent care services

Urgent care services offer quality healthcare services when primary healthcare centers are closed. They are often used if a patient suffering from a severe illness or injury needs urgent medical attention before they are transferred to a bigger healthcare center. Choosing the right urgent care services can help the patient recoup from injury or illness without visiting an ER. The following factors can help a patient choose the right urgent care services.

Types of services offered
The best urgent care centers offer almost every service as a primary care healthcare center. Urgent care centers with highly skilled physicians, imaging machines, onsite pharmacies, onsite pathology laboratories can make it easy to treat an injury illness. These services can make it easy to attend the patient and even prevent a primary healthcare center trip.

Follow-up care
Timely follow-up ensures speedy recovery, as urgent care services should not only be about tending patients till they are at the center. The best services ensure smooth follow-ups, fewer tests, and effective care even after the patient is discharged.

Online check-in services
There are more than 5,000 urgent care centers across the country. Most urgent care centers offer walk-in services. However, being unable to pre-book an appointment may require the patient to wait for 10 minutes to as long as an hour or longer. The best urgent care services offer online appointments so that patients might not have to wait for a longer period to consult a physician. Patients can even call the urgent care service’s call center and ask if they can reserve a particular time slot which can also shorten the wait time.

Medical insurance
This is one of the most important factors that sets apart the best urgent care services. A trip to healthcare centers can mean unexpected expensive bills and substantial out-of-pocket costs and can put patients thousands of dollars behind. The best urgent care services accept medical insurance from almost every insurance firm. It is essential to visit the urgent care service’s website or call them personally to check if they accept particular medical insurance.

Cost
On average, a visit to the urgent care center can cost anywhere between $100 to $200. The actual depends on the patient’s severity of illness or injury. This is almost five times cheaper than ERs (emergency rooms) at primary healthcare centers, as they charge at least $500. Some urgent care services also offer online consultation, which may cost less. Weekend consultation may cost more depending on the availability of the healthcare provider.

Reputation
Once you have shortlisted urgent care services based on the factors mentioned above, consider patient reviews online and ask around to know their personal experience. This will help narrow down the best urgent care services further. Here are three top-rated urgent care services across the country:

• AFC urgent care
  American Family Care (AFC) urgent care is one of the best urgent care centers that offers online scheduling. While the prices may vary depending on location, their average consultation ranges from $95 to $250, and they also offer cash discounts. However, AFC Urgent Care is available in 27 states.
• CVS MinuteClinic
  The urgent care clinic is available in 32 states. What sets CVS MinuteClinic apart from the rest is they offer virtual visits and offer more than 125 services. Their consultation prices range from $85 to $250. However, they are not available for extended hours.
• NextCare urgent care
  One of the best features of this urgent care service is it offers programs to help patients without medical insurance pay for their treatment. They also offer curbside services and urgent pediatric care. Patients can wait at their home or office after checking in as they list the number of patients on their website. NextCare Urgent care has 145 clinics across 11 states.