How Urgent Care Growth is Bridging Gaps in Patient Access and Health System Strategy

Urgent care utilization has rapidly increased over the past decade: It’s no longer just a convenience – it’s become the health care system entry point for millions of patients. A trend that began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many patients turned to urgent care in response to overcrowded emergency departments, urgent care centers today remain a preferred site of care for consumers.

This change in how people access care has created opportunities for non-traditional providers to fill gaps in the care continuum, offering more comprehensive solutions to not only address episodic issues but consider preventive and long-term health. As the health care industry adapts to meet changing patient preferences and incorporate technologies that improve outcomes and satisfaction, urgent cares offer a care model that is primed to deliver both.

Health Care Consumption Changes

The growth of urgent cares across varying geographic settings has led to an increase in utilization – the Urgent Care Association reports nearly 90% of the U.S. population lives within a 20-minute drive of a center. The availability of urgent care has also increased in tandem with the number of Americans without primary care. More than 100 million people lack a primary care provider according to a report by the National Association of Community Health Centers. 

Common deterrents to seeing a primary care provider include lack of appointment availability, geographic and transportation barriers, and a shortage of providers. Most urgent care centers provide solutions to all of these concerns. Urgent cares are typically located in areas of highest need in both urban and rural areas. Data from the Urgent Care Association show 75% of urgent care centers are located in suburban areas, which coincides with where most Americans live. Urgent cares also offer appointment flexibility that many primary care offices cannot – with the ability to both schedule appointments and accommodate walk-ins. 

Clinical Advancements, Technology That Scales

In addition to their convenience, many urgent cares are adding services that enhance their ability to provide comprehensive care, such as expanded diagnostic testing, services for pediatric patients and behavioral health intervention. For example, some urgent care clinics are deploying rapid diagnostic testing for multiple respiratory pathogens using new clinical technology in a single test. This type of testing allows urgent care clinicians to rapidly diagnose and treat multiple conditions including flu A and B and COVID-19. The ability to pinpoint a specific infection supports antibiotic stewardship, enhances clinical treatment decisions, and speeds up time to treatment for patients.

Urgent care’s standardized model enables rapid technology scalability, but local adaptability that allows provider systems to better meet the needs of their communities is what drives impact. Provider systems are best positioned to fill gaps in primary care and leverage urgent care as critical components of the health care ecosystem. With the rapid pace of urgent care growth – both from a services and footprint perspective – forward-looking providers should continue to see increased utilization prompted by changing health care consumption habits.

A Bridge to Meet Patients Where They Are

The growth of urgent care not only benefits patients by offering an alternative to traditional care options, it also offers a solution to health systems looking for ways to diversify offerings to meet patient preferences while addressing common pain points such as overused emergency departments, staffing shortages and burnout, and declining patient volumes.

Less than 40% of urgent care centers are owned or affiliated with a hospital or health system, yet these arrangements can streamline patient care and improve care coordination. One of the biggest criticisms of utilizing urgent care as opposed to a traditional primary care relationship is the perceived lack of care continuity. Urgent cares that are part of a broader health system network often act as an initial point of contact for patients and offer easy referrals to other care providers and specialists within the broader network.

Urgent cares staff differently than hospitals, but models vary. Urgent cares that staff to meet the needs of the communities they serve have more flexibility in the scope of services they provide. Urgent care center staffing generally offers better schedule predictability and work-life balance than hospitals, and can easily scale based on demand and the ability to deploy staff to work at different centers to meet patient needs.

Policy and Payer Implications for Urgent Care’s Future

While urgent care presents opportunities for meeting patient preference through an agile model, there are hurdles preventing it from realizing its full potential. The Urgent Care Association cites commercial payer inconsistencies and low reimbursement rates as  barriers to increasing patient access to urgent care. Similarly, inconsistencies with billing and coding practices and other payer limitations impact the ability of urgent care centers to provide population health screening services that could bridge gaps in care among patients unaffiliated with a primary care provider.

Work is being done to address barriers to urgent care growth, but time is of the essence. The shift away from primary care is expected to grow in 2026 because of federal health policy changes which will impact individual coverage and access to care. Emergency rooms and urgent care centers are expected to see a continued rise in patients and financial strain on health systems is projected to grow. Analysts recommend hospitals and health systems consider adopting operating models that streamline patient flow, invest in technology that prioritizes patient engagement and workforce efficiency, and reflect long-term patient preference shifts. At a time when the health care industry appears to be on a precipice, urgent care may be the bridge to build to avoid troubled waters.