One of the ways that the medical community has progressed in the past few decades is with the introduction of medical urgent care facilities across the country. One of the biggest benefits of urgent car is that it provides convenient care for those who are not critical enough to visit an emergency room, but are not able to visit their regular general practitioner. Here are a few more interesting facts about urgent care in the United States.

1. Less than a third, only 29 percent, of primary care doctors practicing in the United States today have after hours coverage. Urgent care in the United States is one of the ways that the medical industry has been able to combat this issue without further overcrowding emergency rooms.

2. According to a recent study conducted by the Center for Disease Control, only slightly less than half of adult ER patients, this only includes those who were not sick enough to be admitted to the hospital, said that they sought out health care at the ER because they were unable to their general practitioners offices because it was closed.

3. As many as two thirds of urgent care facilities employ a mix of physicians, nurse practitioners or physician assistants. A majority, 65 percent, of urgent care locations have at least one registered physician on site at all times.

4. One of the biggest uses of medical urgent care centers is the fact that they are intended to ease the burden on emergency rooms. One of the ways that they do this is by treating non life threatening injuries and illnesses. Once the patient is in working order, they will often be instructed to follow up with his or her primary care physician.

5. As a way to unify and certify all of the separate urgent care facilities across the country, in spring of 2009, the Urgent Care Association of America established the Certified Urgent Care Center designation. This is a way for people to quickly know that they are getting the best possible care at a certified care center. Find more on this topic here.