<unk>  is the delivery of ambulatory<unk>  in a facility dedicated to the delivery of unscheduled, walk-in<unk>  outside of a hospital emergency department.<unk>  centers are primarily used to treat patients who have an injury or illness that requires immediate<unk>  but is not serious enough to warrant a visit to an emergency room.  Often<unk>  centers are not open on a continuous basis, unlike a hospital emergency room that would be open at all times.
The initial<unk>  centers opened in the 1970s.  Since then this sector of the healthcare industry has rapidly expanded to an approximately 17,000 centers.  Many of these centers have been started by entrepreneurial physicians who have responded to the public need for convenient access to unscheduled medical<unk> . Other centers have been opened by hospital systems, seeking to attract patients.  Much of the growth of these centers has been fueled by the significant savings that<unk>  centers provide over the<unk>  in a hospital emergency department.  Many managed<unk>  organizations (MCOs) now encourage their customers to utilize the<unk>  option.
Urgent care
Neuroimaging
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Confusion CT
Medical restraint
First aid
Lumbar puncture
Transfusion therapy