Business Insider Sums Up the Ongoing Rise of the Urgent Care Market

If you’re reading this, then the fact that urgent care as a distinct practice setting has been on a steady growth trajectory for years isn’t news. It may be more so for readers of Business Insider magazine, however. They know now, though, thanks to a new article that uses data from the current Urgent Care Association Benchmarking Report to illustrate both the growth of the industry and the services patients are most likely to find when they visit an urgent care center. Perhaps most helpful to urgent care stakeholders, the article explains the difference between a retail clinic and urgent care for the uninitiated. (An excerpt: “Urgent care centers are convenient, on-demand care outlets similar to walk-in retail clinics, but rather than treating low-acuity conditions such as bronchitis and minor infections, urgent care clinics are equipped to treat more serious ailments, including fractures, sprains, and wounds. They also offer services like blood tests, stitching, and x-rays.”) The article goes on to describe various urgent care business models and reveal cost differences between urgent care and emergency rooms. In short, the article is unlikely to reveal anything you don’t already know—but odds are that potential patients will learn a thing or two, and consequently be more inclined to visit urgent care for the first time.