Maryland

486 Urgent Care Centers

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.

Urgent Care in Maryland

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.

Walk-in Clinics in Maryland

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.

Understanding Healthcare in Maryland

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.

Specific urgent care and walk-in clinic services available in may include STD testing flu shots, school physicals and many other valuable services