Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:Introduction to Health Care and Public Health in the U.S.
Unit:Delivering Health Care - Part 2
Lecture:Retail Clinics, Urgent Care Centers, and Emergency Departments as Venues for Health Care
Slide content:Urgent Care Centers - 1 Over 8500 acute care centers in the U.S. Growing trend since the 1970s Usually walk-in clinics May have extended hours Usually provide care that may be beyond the scope of care of typical primary care practice 4
Slide notes:Urgent care centers offer a level of care that is more acute and more sophisticated than that offered by retail clinics. There are more than eight thousand five hundred acute care centers in the U.S., and this trend has been growing since the 1970s. Urgent care centers are usually walk-in clinics, which means that a patient does not need have an appointment to see a provider. Providers in urgent care centers are frequently physicians, but may also be mid-level providers such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners. These centers may have extended hours and usually provide care for acute illnesses and injuries that are beyond the scope of care of a typical primary care practice. 4