Abstract
BackgroundDue to long waits for primary care appointments and extended emergency department wait times, newer sites for episodic primary care services, such as urgent care centers, have developed. However, little is known about these centers. The purpose of this study is to provide information about the organization and functioning of urgent care centers based on a nationally representative U.S. sample.MethodsWe conducted a mail survey with telephone follow-up of urgent care centers identified via health insurers' websites, internet searches, and a trade association mailing list. Descriptive statistics are presented.ResultsUrgent care centers are open beyond typical office hours, and their scope of services is broader than that of many primary care offices. While these characteristics are similar to hospital emergency departments, such centers employ significant numbers of family physicians. The payer distribution is similar to that of primary care, and physicians' average salaries are comparable to those for family physicians overall. Urgent care centers report early adoption of electronic health records, though our findings are qualified by a lack of strictly comparable data.ConclusionWhile their hours and scope of services reflect some characteristics of emergency departments, urgent care centers are in many ways similar to family medicine practices. As the health care system evolves to cope with expanding demands in the face of limited resources, it is unclear how patients with episodic care needs will be treated, and what role urgent care centers will play in their care.
Highlights
IntroductionDriven by patients' willingness to seek care at alternative locations, retail clinics and urgent care centers have seen significant growth over the last decade [9,10]
Due to long waits for primary care appointments and extended emergency department wait times, newer sites for episodic primary care services, such as urgent care centers, have developed
Other work has demonstrated that urgent care centers can decrease non-urgent emergency department use without a concomitant increase in hospitalizations; that urgent care center patient populations tend to look more like those in physician offices than in emergency departments; that these centers are busiest during the winter months; and that they can be more cost-effective for providing urgent care than an emergency department [13,14,15,16]
Summary
Driven by patients' willingness to seek care at alternative locations, retail clinics and urgent care centers have seen significant growth over the last decade [9,10] Given their extended hours, availability of unscheduled appointments, and the range of services they provide, urgent care centers are uniquely positioned within the health care system to address the overflow of acute care patients from primary care as well as low- to mid-acuity emergency department patients [9]. Throughout this paper we define urgent care centers in a manner developed in conjunction with the Urgent Care Association of America and consistent with prior definitions [9,17] This includes those health care organizations that are not emergency departments, but typically (a) provide care primarily on a walk-in basis; are open (b) every evening Monday through Friday and (c) at least one day over the weekend; (d) provide suturing for minor lacerations, and (e) provide onsite x-rays
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