While UC does not have a standard definition, it can generally be described as the delivery of ambulatory medical care outside of a hospital emergency department (ED) on a walk-in basis, without a scheduled appointment, available at extended hours, and providing an array of services comparable to typical primary care offices. UC facilities represent a growing sector of the United States healthcare industry, doubling in size between 2008 and 2011. The Urgent Care Association of America (UCAOA) estimates that UC facilities had 160 million patient encounters in 2013. This compares to 130.4 million patient encounters in EDs in 2013, as reported by the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Public Health (PH) is actively working to broaden syndromic surveillance to include urgent care data as more individuals use these services. PH needs justification when reaching out to healthcare partners to get buy-in for collecting and reporting UC data.
Objective:
Provide justification for the collection and reporting of urgent care (UC) data for public health syndromic surveillance.