If you are seeking treatment for a cold or need to have a blood test run, it might seem natural to call your primary care physician to schedule an appointment. However, you should know that there is one other excellent option for basic care -- an urgent care center. Many communities have multiple urgent care centers that are available as an alternative to the emergency room for non-emergency situations, and a lot of patients use these facilities instead of going to their regular primary care doctors. These are a few reasons why it might be a good idea to ditch your primary care doctor and head to an urgent care center for basic medical care.

1. Avoid Waiting for an Appointment

If you've ever had to wait for weeks to see your regular physician, you know how annoying it can be to wait for an appointment. In fact, in many cases, you might find that you're feeling 100 percent better before you're ever able to see a doctor. Urgent care facilities take walk-ins, so you should be able to see a doctor at pretty much any time. This can help you get treatment fast, especially if your doctor's office is filled with appointments for days or weeks ahead of time.

2. Get In and Out Fast

Most urgent care facilities strive to get their patients in and out as quickly as possible. If you have fussy children, are short on time or simply don't want to spend a lot of time in a waiting room, an urgent care facility can be your best choice.

3. Enjoy More Convenient Hours

You're probably a busy person, so it might be difficult for you to get to the doctor during business hours. If you work during the day, it can be tough to sneak away long enough to see your doctor in the middle of a busy work week. If your kids are the ones in need of treatment, you might want to avoid pulling them out of school for the day whenever possible. Luckily, urgent care facilities are typically open much later during the week and are usually open on weekends and holidays. This means that you can see a doctor at a time that is more convenient for you and your family.

As you can see, an urgent care center can be a great option over a primary care physician if you want to enjoy these benefits and more. Although you will probably still want to see your primary care physician for some things, an urgent care center like Urgent Care of Stafford can offer you a lot of treatment options when you are simply in need of basic care.