The Role and Future of Urgent Care Facilities

Urgent care centers provide a critical role in the U.S healthcare system.  They bridge the gap between primary care and emergency care, addressing the growing need for accessible and timely medical services.  It is estimated that Urgent Care centers prevent more than 24 million emergency room visits annually, which reduces the burden on emergency rooms and also saves patients and the healthcare system time and money. This reinforces the importance of  Urgent Care as an essential part of the healthcare system.

According to the Urgent Care Association, there are currently over 14,000 urgent care centers in the U.S.   However, the rapid growth of urgent care centers in recent years has led to increased competition in urban and metropolitan areas, making these markets relatively oversaturated compared to rural and medically underserved areas. In a saturated market, it’s important to differentiate your brand, since consumers tend to view urgent care centers as generic providers.  Differentiation can drive consumer loyalty and draw patients away from competitors.  Adding a niche service, such as pediatrics, is an example that other urgent care centers use.  For example, a clinic in Ohio partners with school districts, providing care for students and staff.  School clinics are open during school hours so students can be seen and parents do not need to miss work commitments.  This type of system provides greater access and greater convenience, a win-win for the business owner and community.

Hospitals are also recognizing that urgent care is a gateway to integrating new patients for primary care, outpatient surgery, and other services.    In 2023, University Hospitals in Ohio, announced its plans to open a new urgent care facility to further enhance healthcare accessibility in northeastern Ohio.  The expansion is part of their strategic plan to bring medical services closer to where patients reside. 

Several factors are likely to contribute to the continued expansion of urgent care in the coming years. The population is aging (and growing in general), which will increase the need for primary care. Healthcare expansion under healthcare reform could also increase the demand for care at urgent care facilities. Increased use of electronic health records could also improve communication between patients’ primary care providers and urgent care centers, enabling urgent care centers to expand the services they offer and treat more complex conditions.
As urgent care continues to evolve, they may become integrated with other healthcare providers to provide more coordinated care. For example, as more hospitals partner with urgent care centers, some may decide to adopt new models of care, such as accountable care organizations (ACOs)—these are groups of providers that agree to be accountable for the quality and costs of the care they provide. If urgent care facilities are able to divert non-emergency care from emergency departments, they could prove to be very cost-effective options.
Insurance companies and medical groups may also increasingly form joint ventures with urgent care centers. The primary draw for insurance companies is that urgent care centers help reduce overall healthcare costs by providing affordable services and expanding care at a lower cost.

The growth of urgent care centers is driven heavily by consumer demand for convenient access to care. At the same time, hospitals view urgent care centers as a way to gain patients, while health plans see opportunities to contain costs by steering patients away from costly emergency department visits. As the U.S. healthcare system grapples with strained hospital emergency department (ED) capacity in some areas, primary care clinician shortages and rising healthcare costs, urgent care centers have emerged as an alterna­tive care setting that improves access and contains costs.