Work

Urgent Care Centers and the Demand for Non-Emergent Emergency Department Visits

Year: 2019

Type: report

Abstract: Urgent care centers (UCCs) are a cost-efficient substitute to the emergency department (ED) for non-emergent conditions, but no study has identified their impact on ED demand.We address this gap using a novel strategy that exploits daily UCC operating times in a differencing framework.After UCCs close each day, local non-emergent ED visits increase by 1.43 percent (over the adjusted mean rate of 70.58 percent) in areas with multiple UCCs.This effect occurs only among the privately insured population, the target customers of UCCs.Our results suggest that UCCs are successfully substituting for EDs in the treatment of non-emergent conditions.

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research

DOI: 10.3386/w25428

Authors: Lindsay Allen, Janet Cummings, Jason Hockenberry

Institutions: West Virginia University, National Bureau of Economic Research, Emory University

Language: English

Topic: Emergency and Acute Care Studies

Subfield: Emergency Medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: Emory University, West Virginia University, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality