Season 3, Episode 10: Top 10 Reasons People Go to Urgent Care

The roots of urgent care trace back to the industrial clinics of the early 20th century designed to treat injured workers quickly and minimize downtime. The urgent care model re-emerged in the 1970s as a response to overcrowded emergency departments and the inability of primary care offices to handle acute, non-life-threatening issues such as walk-ins or after-hours care. Initially met with skepticism and branded by many as "doc-in-a-box,” today urgent care is a $50 billion industry in the U.S. with more than 11,000 centers nationwide. Urgent care is the go-to for routine needs as 45% of young adults lack a primary care provider (PCP). Urgent care may be a better option than the emergency room, but is it better than primary care if primary care was revitalized? We examine that question and more on this episode.