Urgent Care Becomes More Appealing as Patients Stray from Traditional Provider Relationships

The ability to access healthcare at any single point of access is becoming less appealing to healthcare consumers, according to new research from Wolters Klewer. Rather, a trend toward “decentralized care based on demographic differences, cost-driven decision-making, and shifting trust in care providers and settings” is pushing them to less traditional sites like retail pharmacies and urgent care centers. The authors called urgent care a “preferred setting” based on the findings that 57% of women and 51% of men responding to Wolters Klewer’s survey said they would “prioritize urgent care for treatment of injuries, sprains, and cuts” over other settings.