1 5 T H I N G S T O K N O W A B O U T U R G E N T C A R E

R O G E R S TA N M O R E

Approximately 89 percent of urgent care centers experience an increase in patient

intake during the year 2014.

Today, there are nearly 7,100 urgent care facilities nationwide, according to the Urgent Care Association of

America. The full-service facilities are verified by UCAOA, which ensures that they make urgent care medicine (x-ray, labs and extended hours available.

About 87 percent of urgent care facilities acquired or built a new location in 2014, followed by 91 percent

growth in 2015.

On average, urgent care facilities have seven exam/treatment rooms.

Urgent care centers are commonly located in shopping centers/strip malls (34.1 percent), freestanding building (33.2 percent), mixed-use building (13.6 percent), and

medical offices (19.1 percent).

At nearly all urgent care facilities (90 percent), the wait time tends to be 30 minutes or less when attempting to

see a physician. The total patient throughput is 60 minutes or less at 84 percent of urgent care facilities.

Approximately 96 percent of urgent care centers operate seven days each week and open at least four hours per

day.

About 87 percent of urgent cares offer urgent or episodic care exclusively. At the same time, 13 percent of

offer urgent and ongoing primary or specialty care.

Close to 70 percent (66 percent) of urgent care patients have a primary care physician unaffiliated with primary

care physicians.

Just two percent of patients who visit an urgent care facility is transferred to an emergency room.

Nearly all (95 percent) of urgent care centers email or call patients following their visit.

While 22 percent of urgent care facilities are hospital-owned, 20 percent are privately owned by two or more

physicians.

Nearly 14,000 patients visited urgent care facilities in 2014, which means urgent care centers assisted roughly four

patients per hour with there being approximately 50 visits each day. On average, urgent care physicians are able to view

4.5 patients per hour.

Urgent care facilities utilize important social marketing tools, such as social media (85 percent), community event sponsorship (83 percent), and search engine optimization

(75 percent).