Online Patient Reviews Quantify Merits of—and Show Lots of Love for—Urgent Care

A study just published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine highlights the growing trend of patients flocking to urgent care centers, and having a positive experience once they get there. The research considers more than 84,500 urgent care center reviews and over 16,400 emergency department reviews on Yelp. In general, the authors note, patients give higher ratings to urgent care; around 60% of the urgent care reviews were four stars or more, while around the same proportion of ED reviews were three stars or less. Five-star reviews for urgent care and ED visits reflect similar attributes, however—namely, comfort and overall experience, professionalism, clean facilities, pediatric care, and friendly staff interactions. One thing patients appreciate more in urgent care was the ability to see a provider when a prescription refill was needed in a timely manner. On the flip side, one-star reviews for both settings tended to focus on poor communication, a bad telephone experience, waiting longer than expected, billing issues, pain management, and diagnostic testing. One-star ED reviews were most often attributed to level of service and speed of care. When patients knocked their urgent care experience, it was usually over “lack of confidence” and the reception experience. “Patients’ perspectives may become increasingly important as they seek care in the expanding urgent care markets,” the authors concluded.