Urgent Care: The evolution of a revolution

Abstract

The rapid and global growth of urgent care centers has had a revolutionary, though poorly understood, impact on the health care delivery system. The consumer-driven care model inherent in urgent care and other so-called convenience care models is permeating into more conventional health care models. In addition, physician and hospital payment models are evolving, especially in the United States and are creating new market forces that will impact the organization and importance of integrated health care networks in the future. Together, these transformative changes are creating evolutionary pressures on traditional urgent care. Lessons learned from both the Israeli and American experience can be especially helpful for drafting a successful urgent care model for the future. This is a commentary on http://www.ijhpr.org/content/2/1/38/.