Opportunity for Urgent Care Growth May Be Greatest in Rural Areas

There is a rare opportunity for a “transformative urgent care brand” to lock up market share in rural areas across the U.S., according to McGuireWoods, a public affairs consultancy. In fact, that was one of the nine key takeaways from their 12^th annual Healthcare Provider Conference in Charlotte this month. Observing that urgent care operators have largely focused on growth in urban areas, McGuireWoods predicted that the next big opportunity will be in underserved rural communities. Further, citing data from focus groups, they noted that “consumers do not perceive large differences among urgent care providers,” leaving those underserved markets wide open for an operator ready to commit to fulfilling their needs. Other key takeaways concerned ambulatory surgery centers, compliance issues, HIPAA, and various aspects of private equity in healthcare, as well as mergers and acquisitions.