With the opening of four MedExpress Urgent Care offices in the South Hills, and seven total in the Pittsburgh area, there is another option in the region's healthcare network. Patients with nonlife-threatening illnesses or injuries can walk in without an appointment, see a physician and in most cases pay their typical co-payment.

"While it's not a new concept, it is an emerging industry," said Erich Lipphardt, vice president of marketing for MedExpress, headquartered in Morgantown, W.Va.

And, it's just in time for flu season and other winter-related coughs and colds.

"If it's the weekend and your doctor is closed, it's a wonderful option," said Cassandra Falkenstein, an Upper St. Clair mother of three who has visited MedExpress on Old Washington Road in Upper St. Clair. Her 6-year-old son had the flu recently on a weekend morning, her husband was out of town and she didn't want to go to the local emergency room.

The most recent MedExpress opened in December at Marshall Plaza in Scott. The others are in Washington, Greensburg, Monroeville, Mars, Pleasant Hills and Upper St. Clair. An eighth office will open in March in Fox Chapel, Mr. Lipphardt said.

Privately owned, MedExpress was started in 2001 by four physicians in Morgantown. There are two locations in West Virginia -- Morgantown and Parkersburg.

The founding doctors are board certified in emergency medicine and their vision, Mr. Lipphardt said, revolves around providing great care fast, an empathetic approach, professional staff and convenient locations and hours. Each location is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Urgent care is different from emergency care and focuses on treating "acute illness or injury," Mr. Lipphardt said. "We don't want to be confused with emergency care, which is the serious threat to life and limb."

Bethel Park residents Gerry Wallace and his wife, Susan, went to the MedExpress office in Upper St. Clair, and said they were pleased to have a lower deductible payment than expected when Mr. Wallace needed stitches recently for a deep cut. "It was significantly less than the emergency room deductible," said Mrs. Wallace. Mr. Lipphardt said MedExpress has agreements with most insurance companies.

Urgent care is different from primary care as well.

"Primary care manages your health. We're here for life's little nuisances. Primary care is extremely important and we work very closely with them; we're not here to compete with them, but to complement them," Mr. Lipphardt said.

Depending on the volume of patients, there is at least a physician, nurse and an X-ray technologist in the office, Mr. Lipphardt said. Some of the routine illnesses and injuries the doctors see are bronchitis, colds, pneumonia, sprains and broken bones.

The MedExpress doctors also perform minor surgical procedures such as stitches and mole removal. Patient services include X-rays, lab work and IV fluids.

While it may be proliferating, the urgent care concept has actually been around for some time.

Since 1984, Medi-Help Corp. has been operating in Mt. Lebanon from its offices at 1691 Washington Road, offering all three types of care, said Dr. Nenad Janicijevic, Medi-Help's president and medical director.

Dr. Janicijevic remembers when urgent care centers had a presence in the area more than 20 years ago. When managed care was established, Dr. Janicijevic said, the cost to deliver services became too expensive and the urgent care offices couldn't stay in business.

"We remained because we provided excellent, high quality care so patients continued to come to us regardless of the regulations," said Dr. Janicijevic. Medi-Help provides family care, urgent care and is equipped to operate as an emergency room, he said. "If you provide walk-in service, you need to have highly qualified physicians to see patients."

Medi-Help has four additional doctors specializing in family practice, internal medicine and anesthesiology. The office provides services including cardiac and pulmonary evaluations, ultrasound, upper GI endoscopy and colonoscopy.

Medi-Help works with most insurance providers and can be named as primary care physician. The office is open seven days a week, except holidays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.