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Urgent care center

January 01, 1970

An urgent care center (UCC), also known as an urgent treatment centre (UTC) in the United Kingdom, is a type of walk-in clinic focused on the delivery of urgent ambulatory care in a dedicated medical facility outside of a traditional emergency department located within a hospital. Urgent care centers primarily treat injuries or illnesses requiring immediate care, but not serious enough to require an ED visit. In the United Kingdom, urgent treatment centres are provided by the National Health Service, which decided in 2019 that all areas of England should be served by a network of urgent treatment centres. In the United States, urgent care centers were first used in the 1970s and have since expanded to approximately 10,000 centers across the country.

Urgent care may be categorized as its own branch of medicine, as in New Zealand.

Description edit

They are intended for the treatment of conditions which require urgent medical attention but are not life-threatening, such as broken bones, minor infections, sprains and strains, cuts, grazes, minor burns or scalds, and bites and stings.[1]

Various media reports have examined the relative benefits of using an urgent care center. Some of the benefits cited include, shorter wait times, no need to make an appointment, and a large staff which can handle mutltiple tasks relatively quickly. [2]

By region edit

In the United Kingdom edit

 
Urgent Treatment Centre entrance at the Hospital of St. Cross, Rugby

In the United Kingdom, urgent treatment centres (also called walk-in centres or minor injury units) are provided by the National Health Service, not on a commercial basis. They are intended for the treatment of conditions which require urgent medical attention but are not life-threatening, such as broken bones, minor infections, sprains and strains, cuts, grazes, minor burns or scalds, and bites and stings.[1]

Urgent treatment centres are not often located in retail facilities and are generally on hospital sites where they take patients who may not need the facilities of the Accident and Emergency Department, but can be transferred from one to the other if necessary. They are intended to divert patients from the A&E departments, which are under great pressure.[3] Some centres are run by hospital trusts. Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust took over Exeter's NHS walk-in centre from Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust in March 2018. It also runs Honiton Minor Injury Unit. The trust said they were more able to share skills and expertise and work as one team with the A&E department.[4] The Care Quality Commission reported in June 2018 that about 10% of the urgent care services in England require improvement. They inspected 64 urgent care and walk-in centres.[5]

Use of urgent treatment centre edit

There has been a lack of public information about what services are provided and when. It has been pointed out that people need guidance to overcome an historic reliance on accident and emergency. Different words—walk-in centres, minor injury units and urgent care centres—have been used for similar facilities, but without the public understanding what exactly was on offer. In Blackpool, the Walk-in centre and the Same Day Health Centre were both renamed Urgent Treatment Centres in August 2018. This was said to be a clear and comprehensive offer to patients. These urgent treatment centres were "open for at least 12 hours a day, every day of the week, every week of the year, including bank holidays—and offering pre-bookable appointments."[6]

About 230 walk-in centres were opened in England in the 2000s. 51 closed between 2010 and 2014. 95 more were closed between 2014 and 2017 according to 38 Degrees.[7] The Yeovil centre, opened in 2009, closed in 2017; the Somerset clinical commissioning group said too many people were misusing the town centre facility because it was convenient for them. It was replaced by an urgent care service at the hospital open from 10am to 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays.[7] Walk-ins in North Ormesby and Eston were closed in 2017 and replaced by the South Tees Access Response service, run by ELM Alliance Ltd, an alliance of local general practitioners (GPs), which offered late night and weekend appointments at four GP surgeries.[8]

NHS England decided in 2019 that all areas of England should be served by a network of urgent treatment centres which must be GP-led, open at least 12 hours a day, every day, offer appointments that can be booked through NHS 111 or through a GP referral, and be equipped with basic diagnostic equipment. They are intended also to relieve the pressure on general practice. The many units with local names and differing levels of service are to be subsumed into them[9] and some will close.[10] The programme is led by the local sustainability and transformation partnerships.[11]

In the United States edit

The initial urgent care centers opened in the United States during the 1970s. Since then, this healthcare sector has rapidly expanded to approximately 10,000 centers across the United States. Many centers were started by emergency medicine physicians, responding to a public need for convenient access to unscheduled medical care. A significant factor for the increase of these centers is significant monetary savings when compared to EDs. Many managed care organizations (MCOs) now encourage or even require customers to utilize urgent care options.[12] While urgent care centers are usually not open 24 hours a day, 70% of centers in the United States open by 8:00 a.m. or earlier and 95% close after 7:00 p.m.[13]

As of 2014, the urgent care industry is worth an estimated $14.5 billion.[14]

Distribution edit

In 2014, US communities with non-hospital-based UCCs were mainly urban, located in areas with higher income levels and higher levels of private insurance.[15] Kaissi et al., considered local multi-hospital systems in Florida, Maryland, Nevada, Texas, Virginia and Washington. In 2012, 50% of 117 hospital-based "clusters" included either UCCs, retail clinics, or both. 57% of systems in Washington operated an UCC, compared to 36% of systems in Washington, while systems in Florida had the largest share of UCCs (17.6%). Authors noted unexplained state-by-state variation in hospital system partnership with UCC and retail clinic models.[16]

Demographics of UCC patients edit

Corwin, et al., considered Medicare beneficiaries presenting to an UCC emergency department (ED) or physicians office with upper respiratory or urinary tract infections, bronchitis, sprains or contusions, and back or arthritic pain, in 2012. Patients who presented to an ED were more likely to be female (67% of ED presentations) compared to those who presented to a UCC or physicians office (65% and 64% respectively). Patients who presented to an UCC were significantly more likely to be aged over 85 (27%, compared to 15% of physicians office presentations, and 13% of ED presentations) or Black (11%, compared to 6% of physicians office presentations, and 4% of ED presentations).[17] In 2014, 3.1% of family physicians in the United States worked primarily in UCCs, with a male:female ratio of workforce is 6:7, and an urban:rural ratio of 2:1. This compares to 3.6% of family physicians working primarily in emergency care, with a male:female ratio of 5:3 and urban:rural ratio approaching 1:2.[18]

Organizations and certification edit

The Urgent Care Association (UCA) is an organization founded in 2004 to provide resources and training for the industry.[19] The UCA also publishes the Journal of Urgent Care Medicine (JUCM).[20]

The American Board of Urgent Care Medicine (ABUCM) was founded in 1997 to provide certification to urgent care physicians.[21]

Staffing and services edit

Urgent care centers are not emergency departments and as such do not offer surgical services, particularly invasive surgical procedures (more than cutaneous or subcutaneous procedures—those involving body organs and organ parts, and/or deep penetration of deep fascia, tendons, ligaments, bursae, joints, muscles, or bones), any procedures requiring the use of regional or general anesthesia (more than topical local anesthesia), those procedures requiring a full operating room or suite, having lengthy recovery times, or requiring more than the level of imaging or specialists available at the center.[22]

An estimated 13.7 to 27.1 percent of all emergency department care could be administered at an urgent care center, generating a potential cost savings of approximately $4.4 billion annually, according to a 2010 study in Health Affairs.[23]

In New Zealand edit

The Royal New Zealand College of Urgent Care (RNZCUC), was founded in 1995 originally as the Accident and Medical Practitioners Association (AMPA), and presently provides certification for urgent care physicians in New Zealand. The RNZCUC has branch of medicine recognition with the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ), and is recognised as a separate branch of medicine in New Zealand. It is the 13th largest college in New Zealand by membership (of the 34 recognised by the MCNZ).[24]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "When to visit an urgent treatment centre (walk-in centre or minor injury unit)". NHS. 9 November 2020. from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  2. ^ The Upside (Mostly) of Urgent Care: ‘Why Did It Take Me So Long to Figure This Out?’, By Andrea Sachs, February 24, 2024.
  3. ^ "Patients urged to avoid A&E this bank holiday". Eagle Radio. 25 August 2018. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Exeter's walk-in centres will no longer be run North Devon Healthcare Trust". Devon Live. 22 March 2018. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  5. ^ "One in 10 primary care urgent care services in England not up to scratch". OnMedica. 22 June 2018. from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Fresh new name for Fylde health centres". Blackpool Gazette. 20 August 2018. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  7. ^ a b "NHS Mass closure of NHS walk-in centres is fuelling winter crisis, claim campaigners". Guardian. 7 January 2018. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Out-of-hours GP service which replaced walk-in centres is dragged out of 'special measures'". Teesside Live. 24 May 2018. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Urgent treatment centres". NHS England. 2019. from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  10. ^ "Urgent treatment centres could open in four Surrey towns but some walk-in clinics could shut". Get Surrey. 31 January 2020. from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  11. ^ "'Distrust' of United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust over Grantham A&E, says its chief executive". Grantham Journal. 25 February 2020. from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  12. ^ "Blue Cross of GA Uses Google Maps to Encourage Use of Urgent Care". Urgentcarenews.com. from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  13. ^ "'2012 Urgent Care Benchmarking Survey Results.' Urgent Care Industry Information Kit. 2013" (PDF). Urgent Care Association of America. (PDF) from the original on 2013-12-07. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  14. ^ "Race Is On to Profit from Rise of Urgent Care". The New York Times. 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
  15. ^ Le, S T; Hsia, Renee Y (7 April 2016). "Community characteristics associated with where UCCs are located: a cross-sectional analysis". BMJ Open. 6 (4): e010663. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010663. PMC 4838716. PMID 27056591. 
  16. ^ Kaissi A, Shay P, Roscoe C. Hospital Systems, Convenient Care Strategies, and Healthcare Reform. Journal of Healthcare Management 61:2 March/April 2016
  17. ^ Corwin, GS; Parker, DM; Brown, JR (2016). "Site of Treatment for Non-Urgent Conditions by Medicare Beneficiaries: Is there a role for Urgent Care Centres?". The American Journal of Medicine. 129 (9): 966–73. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2016.03.013. PMC 6567985. PMID 27083513.
  18. ^ Petterson, S.; Peterson, L.; Phillips, R. L.; Moore, M.; Finnegan, S.; Coffman, M.; Bazemore, A. (2014-07-01). "One in Fifteen Family Physicians Principally Provide Emergency or Urgent Care". Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 27 (4). Jabfm.org: 447–448. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2014.04.130307. PMID 25001998. S2CID 42338029. from the original on 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  19. ^ "About UCA". ucaoa.org. from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  20. ^ "Journal of Urgent Care Medicine". www.ucaoa.org. from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  21. ^ "ABUCM Home". www.abucm.org. from the original on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  22. ^ "Adaptive Support Ventilation Reduces the Incidence of Atelectasis in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Randomized Clinical Trial". from the original on 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  23. ^ Weinick, R. M.; Burns., R. M.; Mehrotra, A (September 2010). "Many Emergency Department Visits Could Be Managed At Urgent Care Centers and Retail Clinics". Content.healthaffairs.org. from the original on 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  24. ^ "Royal New Zealand College of Urgent Care". from the original on 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2021-10-15.

External links edit

  • Urgent Care Association of America
  • American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine
  • Journal of Urgent Care Medicine (JUCM)
  • Royal New Zealand College of Urgent Care (RNZCUC)

January 01, 1970
urgent, care, center, urgent, care, center, also, known, urgent, treatment, centre, united, kingdom, type, walk, clinic, focused, delivery, urgent, ambulatory, care, dedicated, medical, facility, outside, traditional, emergency, department, located, within, ho. An urgent care center UCC also known as an urgent treatment centre UTC in the United Kingdom is a type of walk in clinic focused on the delivery of urgent ambulatory care in a dedicated medical facility outside of a traditional emergency department located within a hospital Urgent care centers primarily treat injuries or illnesses requiring immediate care but not serious enough to require an ED visit In the United Kingdom urgent treatment centres are provided by the National Health Service which decided in 2019 that all areas of England should be served by a network of urgent treatment centres In the United States urgent care centers were first used in the 1970s and have since expanded to approximately 10 000 centers across the country Urgent care may be categorized as its own branch of medicine as in New Zealand Contents 1 Description 2 By region 2 1 In the United Kingdom 2 1 1 Use of urgent treatment centre 2 2 In the United States 2 2 1 Distribution 2 2 2 Demographics of UCC patients 2 2 3 Organizations and certification 2 2 4 Staffing and services 2 3 In New Zealand 3 References 4 External linksDescription editThey are intended for the treatment of conditions which require urgent medical attention but are not life threatening such as broken bones minor infections sprains and strains cuts grazes minor burns or scalds and bites and stings 1 Various media reports have examined the relative benefits of using an urgent care center Some of the benefits cited include shorter wait times no need to make an appointment and a large staff which can handle mutltiple tasks relatively quickly 2 By region editIn the United Kingdom edit nbsp Urgent Treatment Centre entrance at the Hospital of St Cross Rugby In the United Kingdom urgent treatment centres also called walk in centres or minor injury units are provided by the National Health Service not on a commercial basis They are intended for the treatment of conditions which require urgent medical attention but are not life threatening such as broken bones minor infections sprains and strains cuts grazes minor burns or scalds and bites and stings 1 Urgent treatment centres are not often located in retail facilities and are generally on hospital sites where they take patients who may not need the facilities of the Accident and Emergency Department but can be transferred from one to the other if necessary They are intended to divert patients from the A amp E departments which are under great pressure 3 Some centres are run by hospital trusts Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust took over Exeter s NHS walk in centre from Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust in March 2018 It also runs Honiton Minor Injury Unit The trust said they were more able to share skills and expertise and work as one team with the A amp E department 4 The Care Quality Commission reported in June 2018 that about 10 of the urgent care services in England require improvement They inspected 64 urgent care and walk in centres 5 Use of urgent treatment centre edit There has been a lack of public information about what services are provided and when It has been pointed out that people need guidance to overcome an historic reliance on accident and emergency Different words walk in centres minor injury units and urgent care centres have been used for similar facilities but without the public understanding what exactly was on offer In Blackpool the Walk in centre and the Same Day Health Centre were both renamed Urgent Treatment Centres in August 2018 This was said to be a clear and comprehensive offer to patients These urgent treatment centres were open for at least 12 hours a day every day of the week every week of the year including bank holidays and offering pre bookable appointments 6 About 230 walk in centres were opened in England in the 2000s 51 closed between 2010 and 2014 95 more were closed between 2014 and 2017 according to 38 Degrees 7 The Yeovil centre opened in 2009 closed in 2017 the Somerset clinical commissioning group said too many people were misusing the town centre facility because it was convenient for them It was replaced by an urgent care service at the hospital open from 10am to 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays 7 Walk ins in North Ormesby and Eston were closed in 2017 and replaced by the South Tees Access Response service run by ELM Alliance Ltd an alliance of local general practitioners GPs which offered late night and weekend appointments at four GP surgeries 8 NHS England decided in 2019 that all areas of England should be served by a network of urgent treatment centres which must be GP led open at least 12 hours a day every day offer appointments that can be booked through NHS 111 or through a GP referral and be equipped with basic diagnostic equipment They are intended also to relieve the pressure on general practice The many units with local names and differing levels of service are to be subsumed into them 9 and some will close 10 The programme is led by the local sustainability and transformation partnerships 11 In the United States edit The initial urgent care centers opened in the United States during the 1970s Since then this healthcare sector has rapidly expanded to approximately 10 000 centers across the United States Many centers were started by emergency medicine physicians responding to a public need for convenient access to unscheduled medical care A significant factor for the increase of these centers is significant monetary savings when compared to EDs Many managed care organizations MCOs now encourage or even require customers to utilize urgent care options 12 While urgent care centers are usually not open 24 hours a day 70 of centers in the United States open by 8 00 a m or earlier and 95 close after 7 00 p m 13 As of 2014 update the urgent care industry is worth an estimated 14 5 billion 14 Distribution edit In 2014 US communities with non hospital based UCCs were mainly urban located in areas with higher income levels and higher levels of private insurance 15 Kaissi et al considered local multi hospital systems in Florida Maryland Nevada Texas Virginia and Washington In 2012 50 of 117 hospital based clusters included either UCCs retail clinics or both 57 of systems in Washington operated an UCC compared to 36 of systems in Washington while systems in Florida had the largest share of UCCs 17 6 Authors noted unexplained state by state variation in hospital system partnership with UCC and retail clinic models 16 Demographics of UCC patients edit Corwin et al considered Medicare beneficiaries presenting to an UCC emergency department ED or physicians office with upper respiratory or urinary tract infections bronchitis sprains or contusions and back or arthritic pain in 2012 Patients who presented to an ED were more likely to be female 67 of ED presentations compared to those who presented to a UCC or physicians office 65 and 64 respectively Patients who presented to an UCC were significantly more likely to be aged over 85 27 compared to 15 of physicians office presentations and 13 of ED presentations or Black 11 compared to 6 of physicians office presentations and 4 of ED presentations 17 In 2014 3 1 of family physicians in the United States worked primarily in UCCs with a male female ratio of workforce is 6 7 and an urban rural ratio of 2 1 This compares to 3 6 of family physicians working primarily in emergency care with a male female ratio of 5 3 and urban rural ratio approaching 1 2 18 Organizations and certification edit The Urgent Care Association UCA is an organization founded in 2004 to provide resources and training for the industry 19 The UCA also publishes the Journal of Urgent Care Medicine JUCM 20 The American Board of Urgent Care Medicine ABUCM was founded in 1997 to provide certification to urgent care physicians 21 Staffing and services edit Urgent care centers are not emergency departments and as such do not offer surgical services particularly invasive surgical procedures more than cutaneous or subcutaneous procedures those involving body organs and organ parts and or deep penetration of deep fascia tendons ligaments bursae joints muscles or bones any procedures requiring the use of regional or general anesthesia more than topical local anesthesia those procedures requiring a full operating room or suite having lengthy recovery times or requiring more than the level of imaging or specialists available at the center 22 An estimated 13 7 to 27 1 percent of all emergency department care could be administered at an urgent care center generating a potential cost savings of approximately 4 4 billion annually according to a 2010 study in Health Affairs 23 In New Zealand edit The Royal New Zealand College of Urgent Care RNZCUC was founded in 1995 originally as the Accident and Medical Practitioners Association AMPA and presently provides certification for urgent care physicians in New Zealand The RNZCUC has branch of medicine recognition with the Medical Council of New Zealand MCNZ and is recognised as a separate branch of medicine in New Zealand It is the 13th largest college in New Zealand by membership of the 34 recognised by the MCNZ 24 References edit a b When to visit an urgent treatment centre walk in centre or minor injury unit NHS 9 November 2020 Archived from the original on 9 April 2021 Retrieved 8 April 2021 The Upside Mostly of Urgent Care Why Did It Take Me So Long to Figure This Out By Andrea Sachs February 24 2024 Patients urged to avoid A amp E this bank holiday Eagle Radio 25 August 2018 Archived from the original on 7 September 2018 Retrieved 7 September 2018 Exeter s walk in centres will no longer be run North Devon Healthcare Trust Devon Live 22 March 2018 Archived from the original on 7 September 2018 Retrieved 7 September 2018 One in 10 primary care urgent care services in England not up to scratch OnMedica 22 June 2018 Archived from the original on 25 July 2023 Retrieved 7 September 2018 Fresh new name for Fylde health centres Blackpool Gazette 20 August 2018 Archived from the original on 7 September 2018 Retrieved 7 September 2018 a b NHS Mass closure of NHS walk in centres is fuelling winter crisis claim campaigners Guardian 7 January 2018 Archived from the original on 7 September 2018 Retrieved 7 September 2018 Out of hours GP service which replaced walk in centres is dragged out of special measures Teesside Live 24 May 2018 Archived from the original on 7 September 2018 Retrieved 7 September 2018 Urgent treatment centres NHS England 2019 Archived from the original on 29 December 2019 Retrieved 26 February 2020 Urgent treatment centres could open in four Surrey towns but some walk in clinics could shut Get Surrey 31 January 2020 Archived from the original on 26 February 2020 Retrieved 26 February 2020 Distrust of United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust over Grantham A amp E says its chief executive Grantham Journal 25 February 2020 Archived from the original on 26 February 2020 Retrieved 26 February 2020 Blue Cross of GA Uses Google Maps to Encourage Use of Urgent Care Urgentcarenews com Archived from the original on 22 June 2015 Retrieved 22 June 2015 2012 Urgent Care Benchmarking Survey Results Urgent Care Industry Information Kit 2013 PDF Urgent Care Association of America Archived PDF from the original on 2013 12 07 Retrieved 2015 06 26 Race Is On to Profit from Rise of Urgent Care The New York Times 2014 07 09 Retrieved 2015 12 18 Le S T Hsia Renee Y 7 April 2016 Community characteristics associated with where UCCs are located a cross sectional analysis BMJ Open 6 4 e010663 doi 10 1136 bmjopen 2015 010663 PMC 4838716 PMID 27056591 nbsp Kaissi A Shay P Roscoe C Hospital Systems Convenient Care Strategies and Healthcare Reform Journal of Healthcare Management 61 2 March April 2016 Corwin GS Parker DM Brown JR 2016 Site of Treatment for Non Urgent Conditions by Medicare Beneficiaries Is there a role for Urgent Care Centres The American Journal of Medicine 129 9 966 73 doi 10 1016 j amjmed 2016 03 013 PMC 6567985 PMID 27083513 Petterson S Peterson L Phillips R L Moore M Finnegan S Coffman M Bazemore A 2014 07 01 One in Fifteen Family Physicians Principally Provide Emergency or Urgent Care Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine 27 4 Jabfm org 447 448 doi 10 3122 jabfm 2014 04 130307 PMID 25001998 S2CID 42338029 Archived from the original on 2015 07 10 Retrieved 2015 06 26 About UCA ucaoa org Archived from the original on 2022 12 05 Retrieved 2022 12 05 Journal of Urgent Care Medicine www ucaoa org Archived from the original on 2022 12 05 Retrieved 2022 12 05 ABUCM Home www abucm org Archived from the original on 2018 11 03 Retrieved 2018 11 03 Adaptive Support Ventilation Reduces the Incidence of Atelectasis in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting A Randomized Clinical Trial Archived from the original on 2019 09 23 Retrieved 2019 09 23 Weinick R M Burns R M Mehrotra A September 2010 Many Emergency Department Visits Could Be Managed At Urgent Care Centers and Retail Clinics Content healthaffairs org Archived from the original on 2015 07 01 Retrieved 2015 06 26 Royal New Zealand College of Urgent Care Archived from the original on 2021 09 29 Retrieved 2021 10 15 External links editUrgent Care Association of America American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine Journal of Urgent Care Medicine JUCM Royal New Zealand College of Urgent Care RNZCUC Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Urgent care center amp oldid 1223861159, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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