Physicians at urgent care centers can treat a wide variety of medical ailments – from sprained ankles and broken fingers to allergies, common head colds, and virtually any other non-life threatening conditions that a New Yorker could experience. Urgent care centers are also an excellent place for people to visit, that live in New York City, and need physicals, certain types of medical testing, and vaccinations.
According to Med-Rite Urgent Care owner Samuel Fisch, urgent care facilities can often treat these conditions in less time – while costing less money – than what patients might experience at major hospital emergency rooms or primary care doctors’ offices.
In the past, patients in New York City who needed physicals or vaccinations had no choice but to schedule an appointment with their primary care physicians and pay through the nose for basic services. Recently, however, urgent care clinics have been filling the void for many New York City patients.
Specifically, Fisch says that many people are coming into Med-Rite Urgent Care for their pre-employment physicals and school physicals. In New York City, an increasing number of companies are requiring employees to undergo medical evaluations before beginning employment, especially in certain high-risk industries. At the same time, many schools and recreation centers are requiring student athletes to undergo routine physicals before being allowed to play any type of contact sport.
Fisch says that urgent care centers fill a void when it comes to routine physicals in New York City, because many people who are just getting hired for a job do not yet have insurance, and therefore cannot afford to pay for a physical at a traditional doctor’s office. Student athletes, meanwhile, usually do not want to wait the number of days or weeks it can take to get an appointment with their pediatricians before getting out on the field and playing.
When people come into Med-Rite Urgent Care in New York City for physicals, Fisch says they can be in and out in just a matter of minutes. Med-Rite Urgent Care does not have the lengthy wait lists that many doctors’ offices do, and it does not charge the exorbitant prices that many hospitals charge.
Another reason why Fisch says many people visit urgent care centers is for STD testing. Sexually transmitted diseases are a serious problem in the United States today, and Fisch says that urgent care centers offer people a place to come and get tested without having to face their primary care physicians. STD tests at Med-Rite Urgent Care can be done right away, and the results can be brought up almost immediately.