The Evolving Role of Urgent Care Centers

The urgent care industry is continuing to dominate CRE markets as new technologies and services meet the needs of the public. There is an increasing interest in using urgent care clinics compared to primary care options. Their role in the industry will evolve due to several factors, including:

• Leveraging Telemedicine Service Options
• Expanding On-Demand Care Clinics
• Providing Alternative & Convenient Care

In 2020 and 2021, the global health crisis overflowed U.S. emergency rooms and a new level of reliance emerged. Whether urgent or routine, many healthcare needs were met at non-traditional or smaller-scale urgent care clinics. In 2020 alone, urgent care clinics saw a 58 percent increase in visit volumes due to the demand for COVID-19-related episodic care, with testing and vaccinations accounting for more than 60 percent of total visits, according to the latest research from urgent care software company Experity, which surveyed half of U.S. clinics.

The current market size of the urgent care industry is expected to reach $30.8B by 2025 with a 6.2% CAGR during the forecast period.

One-Stop-Shop for On-Demand Care

To meet public demand and trends, the industry continues to innovate and expand by leveraging technology and new services including businesses with evidence-based medicine, such as telemedicine. Since the ways in which medical professionals connect with patients have evolved rapidly, traditional physicians are looking for ways to shape up and offer better service options. Retail clinics, urgent care clinics, and telemedicine have already created convenient ways to expand on-demand care.

For the seven-day period ending August 24, 2021, 43% of clinics were seeing more than 60 patients per day, and 14% were seeing more than 90. – Experity

In 2019, 42% of clinics were seeing 50 or fewer patients each day and only 6% of clinics were surpassing more than 60 patients per day. – Experity

Top Providers & Companies in the Market

Urgent care clinics aren’t necessarily run by traditional hospitals or health systems. Many of them are owned by non-hospital urgent care chains.

Currently, the top urgent care operators include:

• American Family Care
• City MD
• Concentra
• Fast Med
• GoHealth
• HCA CareNow
• MedPost
• NextCare
• Patient First
• The U.S. Health Work

Why Investors are Keeping a Close Watch

Healthcare real estate is growing but investors continue to keep their eye on the urgent care sector. In urgent care clinics, visit volume is an important way to gauge success and current trends suggest this volume will continue rising. While recent increases may be due in part to COVID-19, the steady upward trend suggests that the industry is nurtured by more patients showing a preference for on-demand care and turning to urgent care clinics like this one when it comes to COVID-19 care and traditional visit types. They have increasingly shown an interest in using urgent care clin ics as an alternative option to primary care.

Key Benefits of the Urgent Care Sector Include:

• Shorter wait times
• Rapid assessment and treatment time for less severe injuries and illnesses
• Convenient hours of operation (24/7 hours)
• Increased access to health services (including flu shots, and telehealth)
• Access to specialists without taking time off from work or school
• Convenience for people with disabilities