Prepare for More Young Patients; Pediatric Hospitals May Be the Next to Cut Back on Services

We reported just last week that a sharp downturn in physicians applying for obstetrics/gynecology residencies may portend a shortage in ob/gyns in hospitals and ultimately force some to reduce services. Now an opinion piece in MedPage Today suggests that children’s hospital consolidations, pediatric mental health crises, and acute surges like the one we saw recently with respiratory syncytial virus may force some institutions to look at reducing pediatric services. If that comes to pass, it’s likely that urgent care centers will be the default next option for parents who would have headed to the pediatric emergency room when the need arose. While it’s likely your urgent care operation already sees its fair share of young patients, it may be best to ensure the whole team is up to speed on the nuances of treating children vs adults in great numbers. A pair of articles in the JUCM archive may be helpful; check out Pediatric Urgent Care—Specialized Medicine on the Front Lines andRetrospective Study on the Impact of Increased Value-Add Time on Patient Experience in Pediatric Urgent Care Centers to get a better sense of your readiness both clinically and in terms of service.