This issue of JUCM, without any plan to do so, demonstrates the age range of patients who realize the value of high-quality, relatively low-cost, convenient care on a walk-in basis. In the preceding pages, there’s an in-depth report on how to ensure you’re prepared to provide the appropriate care for a child who’s been vomiting for previously unexplained reasons. Abstracts in Urgent Care features analysis of articles on topics of greater concern in midlife (the need—or non-need—for a stress test) and older patients (patients who may have had a seizure or experienced an episode of syncope). This month’s case report describes a patient with a diagnosis (diverticulitis) whose age knows no bounds.
Clearly, no one is too young or too old to go to an urgent care center when the need arises.
This begs the question, however: What ages are most likely to show up in your urgent care center? You might have a good bead on your own norms, but JUCM undertook some research to determine what’s most “typical” industry-wide. See the graph below to see how closely your patient population matches up.
URGENT CARE: THE RIGHT CARE FOR YOUNG AND OLD
Source: 2018 JUCM Chart Audit Research. Copyright © 2019 by Braveheart Group, LLC