When patients visit hospital emergency departments in lieu of urgent care centers, their minor ailments may be pushed to the back of the triage system, forcing them to wait longer than necessary. Urgent care centers are intended to fulfill the needs of patients with non-critical illnesses or injuries that would not merit priority triage status, but still need to be addressed with expediency.
When patients with relatively minor illnesses such as colds or flu visit emergency rooms, they can unintentionally expose other ER patients (and family members) who may be less able to fight the disease. Reserving hospital resources for those patients most in need helps to prevent the spread of common illnesses and speed up the treatment processes for everyone.
What will my costs be?
Membership begins when we collect a first-year fee of $144. This membership fee covers your immediate family (individual, spouse, and children). MediCenter will bill your insurance company for each visit. We accept all major insurance plans and are contracted with Premera Blue Cross of Alaska, CIGNA, and MultiPlan. At just a fraction of an emergency room visit, you can have the the same high-quality urgent care and top-of-the-line treatment for your minor emergencies.The savings in both time and money are significant. Ear infections, lacerations, minor burns, sprained ankles, and simple fractures are examples of urgent care services.