Urgent care centers deter some emergency department visits, but costs remain high

Medical Xpress April 5, 2021
by Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

While the emergency department (ED) functions as an integral part of the United States healthcare safety net by handling all medical complaints regardless of insurance status, ED visits are expensive, and many are for lower-acuity conditions that may be amenable to care in other settings. Previous research has suggested that greater availability of urgent care centers—freestanding facilities with extended hours that staff emergency physicians, primary care physicians, or nurse practitioners, and focus on a broad range of lower acuity complaints, like rash, muscle strain, bronchitis, and urinary tract infection—helps decrease ED visits, but whether the centers reduce or increase net spending for patients and insurers has yet to be determined.

A study published today in Health Affairs documents for the...

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