A recent annual Benchmarking Report from the Urgent Care Association (UCA) shows patients are making more visits to urgent care centers which the UCA attributes to a more diversified patient population. They say patients are seeking immediate access to specialized care and there is no shortage of facilities to handle the demand. The number of U.S. urgent care centers increased 8 percent from 2017 to 2018, totaling 8,774 centers across the country, with baby boomers and millennials now being some of most frequent users, according to the report.
Among patients seeking care at these facilities, 70 percent wait less than 20 minutes to see a provider with nearly 94 percent waiting less than 30 minutes – and it appears most patients who choose to receive their care at these centers are making the right choice. Only 2 percent of visitors had to be transferred to emergency departments for higher acuity or diagnostic services.
Other findings in the report include:
- A median of 35 percent of patients seeking care at urgent care centers are unaffiliated with a primary care provider or a medical home.
- Medicare and Medicaid patients seeking services at urgent care centers continues to grow, accounting for nearly 27 percent of all visits in 2018.
- Specialty services such as occupational medicine, pediatric care and telemedicine are becoming more prevalent, increasing access for patients across the country, particularly in underserved communities.
