Radiology Is Becoming a Bigger Draw for Urgent Care Patients

Widespread ability of imaging services was a big step forward for the urgent care industry. Patients appreciate it, too—so much so that quicker access to x-rays and the like has become not just an expectation but an attraction for patients weighing their options for immediate care, according to Urgent Care Quarterly, a new industry resource produced by Experity. In An Analysis of the Impact of Radiology in the Urgent Care Industry, UCQ notes that 10.7% of urgent care visits now feature a radiology exam of one kind or another. “The data suggest that patients are turning to the on-demand healthcare industry for radiology as an alternative to emergency rooms and primary care,” the authors observe. While x-rays continue to be the most common, computed tomography, mammography, magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear medicine, and ultrasound are also found in urgent care centers, albeit less commonly. Ultrasound, in particular, may hold promise for more urgent care centers down the road. JUCM looked at this topic in Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) in Urgent Care, which you can read here.