In order to understand the surge behind the rapid expansion of urgent care facilities across the country, it’s important to understand how the American health care system functioned prior to the urgent care movement.
Hospital emergency departments and primary care physicians carried the bulk of the weight in the American health care system in terms of delivering medical care and services. While there were a few walk in health clinics at the time he urgent care movement began in the 1970’s, these were not considered viable resources for long term health care.
Unfortunately, hospitals and primary care physicians were not able to meet the demand for health care as time went on and the population increased. In addition, the passing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 saw an influx of newly insured patients eagerly seeking access to the health care services they were unable to afford prior to its passing. This, combined with steadily increasing popularity of the urgent care movement allowed urgent care clinics to earn it’s role as an integral part of the American health care system.
Fast forward to today, and given their currently popularity, it can be difficult to imagine there was ever a time when urgent medical care services were considered sub par. Now, they have taken on a variety of additional health care services beyond their modest origins, as many are equipped to treat conditions and injuries such as concussions, fractures, and more. In addition, the majority — 70% — are equipped to administer intravenous fluids (IV) when necessary, and some even feature in-house dispensaries that allow patients to leave with their prescription medication in hand.
Of course, the growing popularity of urgent medical care services can also be attributed to their ability to consistently deliver affordable, convenient, and quality care health care services. This fact has drawn a number of investors who are eager to cash in on the popularity of urgent care.
