Retail Health Clinic Access Increased by 51% During Pandemic

Patient Engagement March 30, 2023
By Sara Heath

Increases in retail health clinic access came as utilization of ambulatory surgical centers and emergency departments went down.

Retail health clinic access and utilization are on the up and up, as more patients accessed these alternative care sites than other points of care like ambulatory surgical centers and emergency departments in 2020 and 2021, according to FAIR Health data.

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, retail health clinic utilization increased by 51 percent. Meanwhile, urgent care center utilization increased by 14 percent.

These findings come as experts continue to eye alternative care sites as the way of the future for healthcare. These alternative care sites—which mostly refer to retail health clinics and urgent care centers, as well as...

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