Definition of Urgent Care: Urgent care is defined as the delivery of ambulatory medical care outside of a hospital emergency department on a walk-in basis without a scheduled appointment. Scope of Urgent Care: Urgent care centers treat many problems that can be seen in a primary care physician's office, but urgent care centers offer some services that are generally not available in primary care physician offices, for example:
X-Ray facilities allow for treatment of minor fractures and foreign bodies, such as nail gun injuries.
Minor trauma rooms facilitate repair of minor and moderate-severity lacerations can be treated in an urgent care center.
Value of Urgent Care: Urgent care centers provide significant savings to patients and insurers over the alternative of hospital emergency departments for episodic care that can not be delayed until an appointment at a physician office is available.
