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Urgent Care Centers: Good for Patients, Bad for Real Healthcare Reform

Experts agree that the key to solving our healthcare crisis is rebuilding primary care. Advocates of the "patient-centered medical home" maintain that our system would deliver higher quality care at lower cost if primary-care doctors better coordinated their patients' care. Yet in the real world, patients have a hard time getting in to see their primary-care physicians. So we have the phenomenon of the urgent-care center, which caters to patients who want to be seen right away but don't have a problem that's serious enough for them to go the emergency room.

There are now 8,700 urgent-care centers in the U.S., up from 8,100 in 2007. Once derided as "doc-in-the-boxes," they have now…

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Featured

 Traditional Providers Get Into the Urgent-Care Game

Over the past two years, hospital chains and insurance companies have snapped up urgent-care centers in a spate of mergers and acquisitions. Health systems, too, are moving into this space, striking joint ventures with independent urgent-care operators, says Tom Charland, chief executive of consulting firm Merchant Medicine.

Articles of Interest

A Tale of Two Sore Throats: On Retail Clinics and Urgent Care

Will I go back to my PCP next time I need urgent care? Maybe, but if I think it’s strep again, I’ll probably look for a reliable urgent care provider who offers rapid strep tests. For working adults who aren’t medically complex, convenience and minimum delays in treatment are key.

Avoiding Emergency Rooms

Many cities and towns now have urgent care or “walk-in” clinics, sometimes attached to hospitals, where patients can be seen without appointments or long waits.

Centers for Urgent Care

Medical facilities offering fewer services than an emergency room, but more than most walk-in clinics, are cropping up in strip malls and medical office buildings nationwide.

Choosing Between the Urgent Care Center, In-Store Clinic, and ER

When you're sick with no doc—or face too long a wait—determining where to go isn't always clear.

Despite Walgreens And CVS Clinics, Hospital ERs Still Used For Routine Care

Retail clinics have become a popular choice for routine aliments and quick primary care treatment, but they may not be reducing visits to emergency departments, according to a new analysis.

How I learned the difference between 'urgent care' and 'urgent care' the hard way

Health systems across the country have been making huge investments to create coordinated care delivery systems that allow patients to get the right kind of care at the right time—whether at retail clinics, primary care clinics, urgent care centers, or traditional bricks-and-mortar hospitals.

Milk, Bread and... Medical Care? Healthcare goes Retail

Retail medical clinics have done what the healthcare industry has been unable or unwilling to do - give consumers what they want...fast, convenient and affordable care for minor problems.

Race Is On to Profit From Rise of Urgent Care

Urgent care clinics also have a crucial business advantage over traditional hospital emergency rooms in that they can cherry-pick patients. Most of these centers do not accept Medicaid and turn away the uninsured unless they pay upfront. Hospital E.R.s, by contrast, are legally obligated to treat everyone.

Urgent care centers hold tight to niche for fast, efficient care

The demand for urgent care centers has been growing, and venture capitalists are buying up clinics throughout the country, Ritucci said. Hospital systems are, too, as it helps them expand their footprint in local markets and serves as an added revenue stream.

Urgent Care Industry Hits $18 Billion As Big Players Drive Growth

The health insurers see urgent care as yet another way keep patients healthy and out of the more expensive inpatient hospital setting. Such a value-based approach to medicine is increasingly replacing the fee-for-service model that emphasizes volume of medical care delivered.

Urgent Care Or ER? New Poll Says Some Patients Aren't Choosing Properly

“Many people may feel they are saving time or money by going first to urgent care, but in instances of serious illness, that loss of time can be dangerous. Urgent care centers are great options for common medical problems, but they are not substitutes for emergency care.”

Urgent Care Versus the ER: A Pediatrician Offers Tips on Making the Right Choice

Parents have a natural tendency to fear the worst when it comes to their children and often opt for a “better safe than sorry” course of action -- but how should you decide whether to go to urgent care or the emergency room?

Urgent Care Vs. Primary Care Physicians: What's the Difference?

Urgent care, which can also be referred to as immediate care, bridges the gap between an injury that’s too urgent to wait for the primary care physician and the life-threatening situation that calls for a trip to the emergency room. Built around patient convenience, Urgent Care clinics are often found with extended hours, and are sometimes even open on holidays. Although all clinics are different, you can sometimes find them where no appointment is necessary.

Why Do People Choose Emergency and Urgent Care Services? A Rapid Review Utilizing a Systematic Literature Search and Narrative Synthesis

We identified six distinct reasons explaining why patients choose to access emergency and urgent care services: limited access to or confidence in primary care; patient perceived urgency; convenience; views of family, friends, or other health professionals; and a belief that their condition required the resources and facilities offered by a particular healthcare provider.

Why there are so many urgent care clinics everywhere

It's a sea change for an industry that for decades operated in far-flung office parks and medical buildings and often required patients to drive 20 or 30 minutes to get stitches or a flu shot.

Why We’re Picking Walmart And CVS Over Doctors’ Offices

The American health care system may finally be catching up to the rest of the 21st-century economy, in which convenience is not only expected, but demanded — and massive retailers are driving the change.

Working in an urgent care center: An assault on the soul

Hey Dr. Young, I’m looking for some basic mentoring advice. I’ve been moonlighting at ZZZ Urgent Care for about a year. Not my favorite work, but oh well. I don’t routinely prescribe antibiotics for URI, but I have gotten a little heat for “underprescribing” as well as not ordering enough additional tests.

You Thought It Was An Urgent Care Center, Until You Got the Bill

Pine and her husband kept driving until they came upon a facility called PrimeCare Emergency Center. "There was nobody in the waiting room, so we went ahead and went in." Pine’s daughter Myra, then 3, was given an antibiotic shot and a prescription for oral antibiotics and sent home. It wasn’t until Ginger Pine saw the bill that she realized she hadn’t taken her daughter to a new urgent care in the neighborhood, but to what’s called a freestanding emergency room.

Resources

11 Secrets Every Urgent Care Worker Knows (And You Should, Too)

But knowing whether urgent care is your best bet isn't always that black and white. To help you figure it out (and optimize your care once you're there), we rounded up 11 need-to-know secrets from urgent care workers.

14 Top Urgent Care Center Chains in the U.S.

Urgent care is on the fast track for growth in the U.S., for reasons that are economic, as well as related to consumer cost and access to care. The nation has about 6,900 urgent care centers, according to the Urgent Care Association of America (UCAOA). While the market is fragmented, there are some major players in the urgent care market. Here, we list some of the largest operators of centers in the U.S.

25 Things to Know About Urgent Care

Urgent care centers — walk-in medical clinics that treat minor conditions such as sprains and colds, as well as conduct imaging and blood tests — have seen significant growth in recent years. Their lower costs compared with emergency departments and easy access have attracted both patients and investors as the industry looks for lower-cost options and resources...

EXER

Our doctors and staff are uniquely trained to treat patients with emergency-level acuity of care, but we’re also close at hand. We live in the communities we serve, and we treat our patients like our neighbors because, well, we are your neighbors. We believe that what’s good for you is better for all of us.

CareNow

When you are sick or injured, the last thing you need is a long wait at the doctor's office or emergency room. You deserve quality medical care that's also convenient. CareNow is dedicated to reducing your wait while improving your health.

CareSpot

Injuries and illnesses are unpredictable and inconvenient. That’s why there’s CareSpot. We’re open throughout the week with extended hours to provide you same-day treatment -- including weekends, evenings, and holidays.

FastMed

At FastMed, your health is what matters most. If your health suffers, nearly all areas of your life are impacted—from work productivity to your emotional wellbeing to the quality of your family time. This is why we do what we do at FastMed Urgent Care.

MD Now

A visit to MD Now costs a fraction of a trip to the emergency room or hospital-affiliated urgent care. The lower cost setting we provide results in significant savings to the overall healthcare system, in addition to lower copays, out-of-pocket expenses and self-pay rates for our patients.

MinuteClinic

By creating a health care delivery model that responds to consumer demand, we're making it easier for Americans to access high-quality medical treatment.

NextCare

When you are in need of urgent care, wouldn’t you like to be assured that you are going to receive exceptional, affordable service? As one of the nation’s largest providers of urgent care and occupational medical services, we at NextCare strive to ensure you and your family will experience the highest level of care.

Novant Health

We're doctors and nurses that work around your schedule. Offering Family Care, Urgent care, Evenings and weekends –With or without an appointment.

Patient First

Since opening our first medical center in 1981, Patient First's vision remains the same: making access to quality medical care as convenient and cost-effective as possible. To achieve this objective, we have adopted and continue to embrace many innovative operating systems and practices.

Concentra

Concentra, a division of Select Medical, is a national health care company focused on improving the health of America’s workforce, one patient at a time. Through its affiliated clinicians, the company provides occupational medicine, urgent care, physical therapy, and wellness services...

American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine

The American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine (AAUCM) is the leading society for physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners practicing Urgent Care Medicine. The AAUCM is comprised of physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners actively engaged in the field of Urgent Care Medicine.

College of Urgent Care Medicine

The College of Urgent Care Medicine will continue and extend the pioneering work begun by physicians within UCAOA, work which supports the clinical practice of urgent care medicine...

Convenient Care Association

Convenient Care Association is the national trade association of companies and healthcare systems that provide consumers with accessible, affordable, quality healthcare in retail-based locations. CCA works primarily to enhance and sustain the growth of the Convenient Care industry through sharing resources, best practices and common standards of operation.

Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine® (JUCM) is the official journal of the Urgent Care Association of America (UCAOA). Each issue contains a mix of peer-reviewed clinical and practice management articles that address the distinct clinical and practice management needs of those who are working in today’s busy urgent care centers.

National Urgent Care Center Accreditation

The National Urgent Care Center Accreditation program is an independent, non-profit organization that provides Accreditation to properly qualified Urgent Care Centers throughout the United States.

Urgent Care Association

We exist to advance and distinguish the role of urgent care medicine as a healthcare destination and support the ongoing success of our membership through education, advocacy, community awareness, benchmarking and promoting standards of excellence.