They are designed to be a practical and cheap alternative to the ER. I was at one today, AAMOF. My illnesses always seem to fall on the weekend (or maybe I wait till the weekend because I’m too stubborn to go during the week - not sure which. My regular family practitioner is not in on the weekend, but the Urgent Care is. I usually have to wait an hour or more after my appointment time before I see my regular doctor - at Urgent Care I was in and out in 30 minutes. I pay the same copay for a visit there, and they will tell me to see my family doctor if it’s anything that relates to my long-term conditions (which they have on file). Great place to go for off-hours emergencies and for treatment for flu or for injuries and infections - Glad someone thought of it and filled a niche in the hierarchy of family medical care.
We are there to take care of you when your regular doc can't squeeze you in. (They have regular hours, rarely work weekends, and literally cannot take all comers.)
That's where we come in.
We also serve a lot of out of towners who get sick on their trips and are nowhere near their family doc.
I worked today and my last two patients came in at 7pm.
One had a deep laceration that wouldn't stop bleeding, so I sutured and dressed the wound. Another man fell down some steps at home and landed squarely on his toes.
He had a severely painful fracture of his big toe.
I treated him, got him in a temporary cast and referred him to orthopedics.
He'll be comfortable until then, instead of suffering for days until seen by his primary.
Both were happy, and prevented a very expensive ER visit.
We take that "pressure" off the local ER, so they can take of more serious cases.
Win-win for everyone involved.