Emergency Rooms Are in a Dangerous Bind—and They’re Pleading for Help from Urgent Care

JUCM News has been bringing you updates on the consequences of reduced hospital services for communities all over the country for some time now. Something that’s gone under the radar, however, is how difficult cost-cutting measures like reducing services can be on the providers who work in hospitals. Patients don’t stop coming just because a department closes, and too often they flock to the emergency room. At South Shore Health in South Weymouth, MA they can languish for up to 7 hours before being seen according to a report aired by WCVB in Boston. It’s gotten so bad that some physicians are not just suggesting, but basically promoting urgent care as an alternative. One ER doc featured in the WCVB story told the reporter “for something that’s really nonacute…you could be in and out of an urgent care center in 45 minutes or less.” To be fair, her institution also operates seven urgent care locations in the area so there’s a strong chance they wouldn’t “lose” patients to a competitor. Nonetheless, the piece highlights the role urgent care plays in the healthcare continuum at times of crisis, and the fact that providers in other settings are coming to realize that UC is an indispensable ally.