Many experts agree that the American health care system can be divided into three distinct (although equally important) sectors.

The sector that most American patients are most familiar with is the primary care sector. These doctors treat non serious and non life threatening illnesses and ailments. Additionally, these doctors administer annual and semi annual checkups for their patients. Consequently, many patients become close friends with their doctors over the course of several decades, which is why millions of American patients ask these doctors to administer regular vaccinations, shots, and other medical procedures. In some instances, people have turned down jobs with high paying salaries in order to remain close to their primary care doctors.

If every American knows his or her primary care doctor, fewer Americans know the doctors who work in the emergency rooms (or ERs) at their local hospital. These emergency rooms are reserved for patients who are suffering from serious, life or death illnesses and injuries. The doctors who work in these emergency rooms are often the best doctors in the country because they have to make quick decisions under pressure. Many doctors find that it is almost impossible to think clearly when a patient is bleeding to death in front of their eyes, and consequently, very few doctors work in emergency rooms for more than a few months. (However, there are exceptions to every rule: some doctors spend their entire careers in emergency rooms.)

The final sector of the American health care system stands in between the primary care physician and the emergency room. I am talking about the 24 hour urgent care Scottsdale, AZ. According to data culled from the CDC, these urgent care centers (such as the 24 hour urgent care Scottsdale, AZ or the walk in clinic Phoenix, AZ) represent one of the fastest growing sectors in the system, now that more than half of all adults seek them out when their physicians are closed or when their doctors cannot see them immediately.

Some patients also prefer these 24 hour urgent care Scottsdale, AZ to their primary doctors when they need embarrassing tests, such as Std testing scottsdale, AZ or Std testing phoenix, AZ. In these instances, the 24 hour urgent care Scottsdale, AZ can both prescribe and dispense prescriptions for the patient; the 24 hour urgent care Scottsdale, AZ thus ensures the patient need not let any of his friends, family members, or neighbors learn about his or her embarrassing affliction.

Most patients, however, seek out 24 hour urgent care Scottsdale, AZ and 24 hour urgent care phoenix, AZ for less embarrassing reasons. These reasons include: sprains and strains; fractures; upper respiratory illnesses; gastrointestinal conditions such as food poisoning; lacerations; concussions; and the common cold, which the average child catches between six and ten times each year. Many American patients seek out 24 hour urgent care Scottsdale, AZ when suffering from these ailments because they know that these 24 hour urgent care Scottsdale, AZ can see, treat, and cure them within the course of a day.