Urgent care medicine is a growing field, and there are approximately 20,000 physicians that are currently in practice. Throughout the United States, there are roughly 9,300 walk-in, stand-alone urgent care facilities. Every year, 50 to 100 new clinics are opening their doors. These numbers fluctuate, however, due to buy-overs, expansions, and consolidations.
Around half of the urgent care centers are owned by either a single physician or a group of physicians. In 2014, almost all of the urgent care centers in operation were open throughout the entire week for a minimum of 4 hours. These facilities tend to average 7 exam and treatment rooms, and 60% keep their patients waiting for less than 15 minutes to see either a physician or a mid-level provider, such as a physician’s assistant. It’s also important to note that 65% of these facilities always have a physician available at their site.
It’s well-known that people in the United States rely on the 24-hour access to medical assistance that is provided at traditional hospital emergency rooms. Over the past 10 years, these visits have actually increased by 22%. When a health issue is life-threatening, it’s important to go to the emergency room. However, there are a variety of issues that could be treated at an urgent care facility instead.
The costs associated with an emergency room visit are higher than those associated with an urgent care visit. When someone visits the emergency room for an issue that could be treated at an urgent care center, there is a considerable price differential. The average cost for an emergency room visit, for example, is $2,039.00, while an urgent care visit would average $226.00.
Insurance reimbursements also vary, according to a recent report. The average reimbursement for visits to an urgent care facility are approximately $103.00 per patient. Hospital emergency rooms visits average $302.00 per patient.
Some urgent care facilities follow the hybrid model, which is a facility that provides both urgent and emergency care. When 24 hour urgent care is needed, there are locations that provide this valuable service. Since there are a variety of 24 hour urgent care locations available that can treat the flu and other minor illnesses, along with lacerations and other injuries, it’s important to make note of these 24 hour urgent care locations.
