By Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News

CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md. – After Dwayne Duckenfield banged his right elbow working around the house on a recent Saturday, he grew worried when the swelling didn’t go down and the pain worsened.

Concerned he may have broken a bone, the project manager who lives in Washington, D.C., didn’t go to the nearest emergency room or wait until Monday to call his physician for an appointment. Like an increasing number of Americans looking for fast and affordable health care, he went to an urgent care facility.

Duckenfield, 41, visited Concentra Urgent Care just inside the Washington Beltway, a center that’s part of the nation’s largest urgent care chain. Within 75 minutes, he was examined, had an X-ray and was prescribed a pain medication. “This was so convenient and now I have peace of mind,” he said, after paying his $25 insurance co-pay.

Across the U.S., an estimated 3 million patients visit these centers each week, according to the Urgent Care Association of America, a trade group based in Chicago. To meet demand, the number of facilities has increased from 8,000 in 2008 to more than 9,200 this year, the association said. About 600 urgent centers opened this year.

Fueling that rise are two longstanding trends — crowded emergency rooms and a lack of primary care doctors. Urgent care operators say another factor is helping to propel business: the drive to lower costs.

Savings draw attention

Urgent care centers’ fees are at least half those charged at a hospital emergency department for the same condition, although they are similar to what physicians charge for office visits. Still, the savings in ER costs are a big draw for patients without insurance, as well as insured patients facing higher out-of-pocket costs because of rising deductibles. Those lower fees have also drawn the attention of hospitals and insurers — both of which increasingly see the facilities as a way to hold down costs and boost bottom lines. To continue reading this article, click here.