From sprain, scrapes, and rashes, to nausea, diarrhea, flu, cough, and earaches, there are several reasons to visit an urgent care clinic. Urgent care clinics are a safe and easy way to treat non-emergent conditions. If you have never visited one of these clinics, you probably do not know what to expect. Here are a few of the things you can expect to occur during your first trip to an urgent care clinic.

Finding The Right Urgent Care for You

Depending upon where you live, there might be several urgent cares in your community. Choosing the right urgent care for you is based upon several factors. For example, you will need to choose an urgent care that is in your insurance company's provider network. If you are not sure, contact your insurance provider for more information.

Urgent cares are becoming more popular, which means that the wait time at your nearby urgent care center will vary. Many urgent care providers have a website that allows you to find out their estimated wait time to see a provider and to check in early, which holds your place in line. If available, these will allow you to lessen the time you or your child's needs to wait to be seen.

What To Bring to Urgent Care

Unlike your physician, an urgent care provider will not have your basic information available. This means you will need to bring a few key pieces of information along with you, including:

• Your insurance card
• A list of your current medications
• Your identification

If this is a set of symptoms you have never experienced or if you are a young parent who is concerned about your child's symptoms, don't hesitate to create a list of questions for your provider.

Seeing the Healthcare Provider

After you check in, depending upon whether you saved your spot or walked into the clinic, you will need to wait to see your provider. Depending upon the urgent care and your symptoms, you may not see a doctor and instead, visit with a nurse practitioner. However, you will receive an amazing level of care. Just like any other doctor visit, your nurse practitioner or physician will ask about your symptoms, perform an exam, and run some tests.

Unlike a visit to the emergency room, you will typically wait far less time to see a healthcare provider and your visit will typically be shorter.

If you have non-emergent symptoms, visiting a walk-in clinic, or urgent care, is an option to receive the care you need.