Urgent Care Through Telehealth

Eric W Bean; Kathryn M Harmes

doi:10.1016/j.pop.2022.04.004

Urgent Care Through Telehealth

Prim Care. 2022 Dec;49(4):677-685. doi: 10.1016/j.pop.2022.04.004. Epub 2022 Oct 12.

Authors

Eric W Bean¹, Kathryn M Harmes²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Emergency and Hospital Medicine, Lehigh Valley Health Network, 707 Hamilton Street, 5th Floor, Allentown, PA 18101, USA.
² Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, 300 North Ingalls Street, NI4C06, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5435, USA. Electronic address: jordankm@umich.edu.

PMID: 36357070
DOI: 10.1016/j.pop.2022.04.004

Abstract

Urgent care as a distinct clinical care entity began in the 1970s to treat low-acuity conditions. Virtual urgent care (VUC) can be provided by the primary care physician (PCP) or home health system of the patient, and many commercial direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies have emerged to provide this service. Quality of care continues to be evaluated, but some studies suggest that DTC providers prescribe antibiotics at a higher rate than PCPs. VUC has been proposed to improve equity and access to care, but early evidence is mixed. New utilization owing to convenience may lead to overall higher health care costs.

Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Telehealth; Urgent care.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Ambulatory Care
Humans
Telemedicine*