Patients in the [b]US[/b] are turning to one of the fastest-growing segments of US health care: urgent care, the walk-in clinic. [s]The New York Times[/s] reports that once derided as ‘Doc in a Box’ medicine, urgent care has mushroomed into an estimated $14.5bn business. Experts say a cultural shift is underway. ‘We expect to do our banking 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and to shop 24/7,’ said Dr Ateev Mehrotra, an associate professor in the [b]Department of Health Care Policy[/b] at [b]Harvard Medical School[/b] and an adjunct policy analyst at the [b]RAND Corporation[/b]. ‘So now we want our health care to be 24/7.’ But some family physicians – who stand to lose business to the newcomers – wonder if patients are trading quality for convenience.
[link url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/10/business/race-is-on-to-profit-from-rise-of-urgent-care.html?emc=edit_th_20140710&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=60640071&_r=1]Full report in The New York Times[/link]