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Unnecessary emergency room visits create higher medical bills while clogging hospitals that should only address the needs of seriously injured and sick patients. This is a particular issue in Maryland and their high poverty rates. In fact, Cumberland, Maryland is one of the nation’s poorest cities with a median household income of just $34,819, compared to the $50,502 national median. Poverty often forces people to use emergency rooms as primary caregivers. When a person cannot afford to visit a doctor, he or she often tries to ignore illness until it becomes an undeniable problem.
These issues could be alleviated if people with non-emergent illnesses and injuries utilized urgent care centers, as they are generally less expensive and more accessible than a hospital emergency room. Everything from fractured bones to sore throat can be taken care of at an urgent care while allowing patients to get the care that they need quickly and easily.
In addition to urgent care centers, a variety of walk-in clinic types are available to Maryland residents and visitors. Given the cost and access issues, retail clinics are good alternative. A retail clinic is a type of walk-in clinic generally located inside of retail stores like big-box retailers such as Walmart and Target, or pharmacies like Walgreens or CVS. They offer treatment for minor injuries and illness, as well as preventative care and immunizations.
Having health insurance doesn't assure that patients in Maryland receive appropriate care. The Baltimore Sun reports that many insurers in the state use "fail first" policies that require patients to take up to five treatments before they will cover the cost of newer medications. Insurers hope that this will save money, but it actually sends more patients to the ER with serious illnesses that could have been addressed earlier in treatment. Changing laws could help lower those numbers, but patients also need to know that they can visit walk-in clinics instead of high-priced emergency rooms to assist with preventative health concerns.
The price charged at an urgent care, whether in Maryland or elsewhere, will be based on the location, and there are no actual standard costs between the clinics. Assuming you are paying with cash, you might come across an urgent clinic that charges you $50 while another situated some mile away charges you $100 for the same services. The standard cost in urgent care where insurance cover is not involved ranges from $100 to $125. This price is generally the standard price of a visit before extra services. There are a couple of additional care services that could make your appointment to an urgent care costly including x-rays and lab tests, medications and injections (such as immunization), casting broken bones, as well as stitches and splints. If you have a viable insurance plan in place, the standard pay will be between $20 – 50 depending on your insurance coverage and whether you are in contact with the provider.
Most primary care doctor offices are open during routine work hours, Monday thru Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Conversely, most of the urgent care centers in Maryland are available after hours, on weekends, and many holidays. Typical urgent care hours are 8:00 am to 8:00 pm daily, although location-specific hours may vary.
Historically, urgent care centers were strictly an on-demand, walk-in healthcare service mode. More recently, as consumer behaviors and expectations have evolved, many urgent care clinics have begun offering book ahead visits, allowing consumers to select a same-day or next-day time that works best for their schedule. Use Solv to find a Maryland urgent care center that offers advanced bookings (or appointments) and book online.
Solv allows Maryland residents and visitors to book urgent care visits online with just a few taps. Same-day and next-day visit times are generally available, and you can search for real-time availability clinics.
Solv allows you to find any of the urgent care and walk-in clinics in Maryland, many of which accept most major commercial insurances. Just browse the clinics page to see if your carrier and plan is listed. If you are still unsure, it is best to contact the urgent care center directly for clarification.
Many urgent care centers, including those in Maryland, now offer virtual visits or telemedicine for residents and visitors throughout the state. Virtual urgent care visits are generally booked online whether in advance or on-demand. Clinics that do offer virtual care have a video icon on their profiles.
While it would be easy to provide a list of urgent care centers in and around Maryland, 'best' is a challenging term to qualify. For some consumers, that could mean the closest location whereas other people may prioritize patient reviews, service costs, availability, or whether or not the provider accepts their insurance. With the list of locations above, use the filters provided to narrow the results to find the best urgent care for your needs.
Urgent care is available to assist patients that are looking for immediate, convenient medical care. In that manner, they are similar to an emergency room. The difference, however, is that ERs are meant to treat major, life-threatening injuries and illnesses while urgent care centers manage life’s minor bruises and bumps. In simple terms, an urgent care is seen as a walk-in health center that focuses in offering non-emergent health care conditions, including the treatment of the typical illnesses and injuries such as fractures and sprains, cuts and burns, scrapes, stings and bites, flu and cold symptoms, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, and much more. Most urgent care facilities offer both diagnostic and preventive care such as well visits, immunizations, STD testing and annual physicals. For regular visits and check-ups on these clinics, you should expect to pay between $20 and $100. The good thing is that most urgent care clinics will accept major PPOs and insurance cover, Medicare, as well as self-pay in the form of credit cards or cash. Urgent care clinics are located in most parts of the country in various regions to offset emergency room visits and provide a gap in healthcare services. They take patients during all hours of operations, which offer a significant convenience to most people who have and continue to undergo the need for sudden and immediate medical attention.
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