Urgent care center
An urgent care center (UCC), also known as an urgent treatment centre (UTC) in the
Urgent care may be categorized as its own branch of medicine, as in New Zealand.
Description
They are intended for the treatment of conditions which require urgent medical attention but are not
Various media reports have examined the relative benefits of using an urgent care center. Some of the benefits cited include, shorter wait times, no need to make an appointment, and a large staff which can handle mutltiple tasks relatively quickly. [2]
By region
In the United Kingdom
In the
Urgent treatment centres are not often located in retail facilities and are generally on hospital sites where they take patients who may not need the facilities of the
Use of urgent treatment centre
There has been a lack of public information about what services are provided and when. It has been pointed out that people need guidance to overcome an historic reliance on accident and emergency. Different words—
About 230 walk-in centres were opened in England in the 2000s. 51 closed between 2010 and 2014. 95 more were closed between 2014 and 2017 according to 38 Degrees.[7] The Yeovil centre, opened in 2009, closed in 2017; the Somerset clinical commissioning group said too many people were misusing the town centre facility because it was convenient for them. It was replaced by an urgent care service at the hospital open from 10am to 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays.[7] Walk-ins in North Ormesby and Eston were closed in 2017 and replaced by the South Tees Access Response service, run by ELM Alliance Ltd, an alliance of local general practitioners (GPs), which offered late night and weekend appointments at four GP surgeries.[8]
In the United States
The initial urgent care centers opened in the United States during the 1970s. Since then, this healthcare sector has rapidly expanded to approximately 10,000 centers across the United States. Many centers were started by emergency medicine physicians, responding to a public need for convenient access to unscheduled medical care. A significant factor for the increase of these centers is significant monetary savings when compared to EDs. Many managed care organizations (MCOs) now encourage or even require customers to utilize urgent care options.[12] While urgent care centers are usually not open 24 hours a day, 70% of centers in the United States open by 8:00 a.m. or earlier and 95% close after 7:00 p.m.[13]
As of 2014[update], the urgent care industry is worth an estimated $14.5 billion.[14]
Distribution
In 2014, US communities with non-hospital-based UCCs were mainly urban, located in areas with higher income levels and higher levels of private insurance.[15] Kaissi et al., considered local multi-hospital systems in Florida, Maryland, Nevada, Texas, Virginia and Washington. In 2012, 50% of 117 hospital-based "clusters" included either UCCs, retail clinics, or both. 57% of systems in Washington operated an UCC, compared to 36% of systems in Washington, while systems in Florida had the largest share of UCCs (17.6%). Authors noted unexplained state-by-state variation in hospital system partnership with UCC and retail clinic models.[16]
Demographics of UCC patients
Corwin, et al., considered Medicare beneficiaries presenting to an UCC emergency department (ED) or physicians office with upper respiratory or urinary tract infections, bronchitis, sprains or contusions, and back or arthritic pain, in 2012. Patients who presented to an ED were more likely to be female (67% of ED presentations) compared to those who presented to a UCC or physicians office (65% and 64% respectively). Patients who presented to an UCC were significantly more likely to be aged over 85 (27%, compared to 15% of physicians office presentations, and 13% of ED presentations) or Black (11%, compared to 6% of physicians office presentations, and 4% of ED presentations).
Organizations and certification
The Urgent Care Association (UCA) is an organization founded in 2004 to provide resources and training for the industry.[19] The UCA also publishes the Journal of Urgent Care Medicine (JUCM).[20]
The American Board of Urgent Care Medicine (ABUCM) was founded in 1997 to provide certification to urgent care physicians.[21]
Staffing and services
Urgent care centers are not emergency departments and as such do not offer surgical services, particularly invasive surgical procedures (more than cutaneous or subcutaneous procedures—those involving body organs and organ parts, and/or deep penetration of deep fascia, tendons, ligaments, bursae, joints, muscles, or bones), any procedures requiring the use of regional or general anesthesia (more than topical local anesthesia), those procedures requiring a full operating room or suite, having lengthy recovery times, or requiring more than the level of imaging or specialists available at the center.[22]
An estimated 13.7 to 27.1 percent of all emergency department care could be administered at an urgent care center, generating a potential cost savings of approximately $4.4 billion annually, according to a 2010 study in Health Affairs.[23]
In New Zealand
The Royal New Zealand College of Urgent Care (RNZCUC), was founded in 1995 originally as the Accident and Medical Practitioners Association (AMPA), and presently provides certification for urgent care physicians in New Zealand. The RNZCUC has branch of medicine recognition with the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ), and is recognised as a separate branch of medicine in New Zealand. It is the 13th largest college in New Zealand by membership (of the 34 recognised by the MCNZ).[24]
References
- ^ a b "When to visit an urgent treatment centre (walk-in centre or minor injury unit)". NHS. 9 November 2020. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ The Upside (Mostly) of Urgent Care: ‘Why Did It Take Me So Long to Figure This Out?’, By Andrea Sachs, February 24, 2024.
- ^ "Patients urged to avoid A&E this bank holiday". Eagle Radio. 25 August 2018. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ "Exeter's walk-in centres will no longer be run North Devon Healthcare Trust". Devon Live. 22 March 2018. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ "One in 10 primary care urgent care services in England not up to scratch". OnMedica. 22 June 2018. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ "Fresh new name for Fylde health centres". Blackpool Gazette. 20 August 2018. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ a b "NHS Mass closure of NHS walk-in centres is fuelling winter crisis, claim campaigners". Guardian. 7 January 2018. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ "Out-of-hours GP service which replaced walk-in centres is dragged out of 'special measures'". Teesside Live. 24 May 2018. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ "Urgent treatment centres". NHS England. 2019. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "Urgent treatment centres could open in four Surrey towns but some walk-in clinics could shut". Get Surrey. 31 January 2020. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "'Distrust' of United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust over Grantham A&E, says its chief executive". Grantham Journal. 25 February 2020. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "Blue Cross of GA Uses Google Maps to Encourage Use of Urgent Care". Urgentcarenews.com. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ^ "'2012 Urgent Care Benchmarking Survey Results.' Urgent Care Industry Information Kit. 2013" (PDF). Urgent Care Association of America. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-12-07. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
- ^ "Race Is On to Profit from Rise of Urgent Care". The New York Times. 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
- PMID 27056591.
- ^ Kaissi A, Shay P, Roscoe C. Hospital Systems, Convenient Care Strategies, and Healthcare Reform. Journal of Healthcare Management 61:2 March/April 2016
- PMID 27083513.
- from the original on 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
- ^ "About UCA". ucaoa.org. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ "Journal of Urgent Care Medicine". www.ucaoa.org. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ "ABUCM Home". www.abucm.org. Archived from the original on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
- ^ "Adaptive Support Ventilation Reduces the Incidence of Atelectasis in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Randomized Clinical Trial". Archived from the original on 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
- ^ Weinick, R. M.; Burns., R. M.; Mehrotra, A (September 2010). "Many Emergency Department Visits Could Be Managed At Urgent Care Centers and Retail Clinics". Content.healthaffairs.org. Archived from the original on 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
- ^ "Royal New Zealand College of Urgent Care". Archived from the original on 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2021-10-15.