Reduction in lower-acuity emergency department visits was offset by increase in urgent care center costs<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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MONDAY, April 5, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Use of urgent care centers is associated with a small reduction in lower-acuity emergency department visits, but with an increase in urgent care center costs, according to a report published in the April issue of Health Affairs<\/em>.<\/p>\n Bill Wang, from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues examined the correlation within ZIP codes between changes in rates of urgent care center visits and rates of lower-acuity emergency department visits using 2008 to 2019 insurance claims and enrollment data from a national managed care plan.<\/p>\n The researchers found that the entry of urgent care deterred lower-acuity emergency department visits but the impact was small. Reduction of a single lower-acuity emergency department visit was seen in association with an estimated 37 additional urgent care center visits. Prevention of each $1,646 lower-acuity emergency department visit was offset by an increase of $6,327 in urgent care center costs. Despite a 10-fold higher price per visit for emergency departments versus urgent care centers, use of the centers was associated with an increase in net overall spending on lower-acuity care at emergency departments and urgent care centers.<\/p>\n “Urgent care centers are associated with increased overall costs for lower-acuity visits across the emergency department and urgent care settings,” the authors write. “This reflects a substantial increase in access to unscheduled care, but it poses risks for health insurers and patients who must pay these increased costs.”<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n