Could the Postpandemic Era Mark the Right Time for Behavioral Health Urgent Care?

With increasing rates of depression and anxiety attributed to life changes over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic coinciding with (or perhaps causing) increased delays in seeing mental health professionals, it seems clear new solutions are needed in the behavioral health setting. With the traditional urgent care model now proven as an alternative to both primary care and the emergency room for most complaints, efforts are afoot to establish a new variety of urgent care for those in need of urgent mental healthcare. As reported by The Enquirer Gazette, Luminis Health Doctors Community Health Center is now offering behavioral health urgent care at a new facility in Lanham, MD. And residents in the Calhoun County, MI area can get walk-in help with mental health concerns 24/7 at First Step Psychiatric Urgent Care. That facility opened in September 2021 in the thick of the pandemic and has treated more than 5,500 patients according to an article published by Second Wave Michigan. Both clinics promote themselves as suitable for non–life-threatening behavioral and mental health complaints, as well as substance-abuse problems.