Urgent Care Case Study

Urgent care centers first opened in the United States in the early 1980s (http://www.chcf.org/~/media/MEDIA%20LIBRARY%20Files/PDF/PDF%20N/PDF%20NoAppointmentNecessaryUrgentCareCenters.pdf no appointment needed). The inspiration behind establishing urgent care centers originated when entrepreneurial physicians identified a gap in the industry. As there was a shortage of primary care physicians who lacked flexibility and extended office hours patients were forced to turn to emergency rooms for non-emergency treatment. As a result, emergency rooms became crowded with low risk patients that did not need immediate care. Consequently, overcrowding resulted in long wait times, unsatisfied patients, misdiagnosis, and overworked emergency rooms physicians. Additionally, at least two domains of quality of care, safety and timeliness, are compromised by emergency room crowding (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1553-2712.2008.00295.x/full). Ultimately, in order to remedy such overcrowding urgent care centers were established.

However, upon its conception the urgent care industry suffered a sudden decline. One of the reasons urgent care centers were unsuccessful was that many of the earlier urgent care centers were staffed by physicians who were not optimally trained to provide the type of care requested; quality issues

Such facilities offer extended office hours, reduced waiting times, and accept walk-ins. The convenience of such centers provides patients with the flexibility they need as the physicians work around the patients availability. Therefore, urgent care facilities have replaced emergency rooms and primary physicians for patients that need immediate assistance. Consequently, changing the perception of the emergency room and deterring patients from going to the emergency room for non-life threatening