Published on

JUCM has devoted a lot more space to covering aspects of providing urgent care for children. In this very issue there’s a new original research article on how long the SARS-CoV-2 virus lasts in children who may or may not be symptomatic (see page XX). And if you look at our Masthead, you’ll notice we’ve even engaged a pediatric urgent care provider to provide guidance and to help us ensure we’re conveying the right information when it comes to treating younger patients.

            These are not random choices. They reflect changes we’ve observed in the urgent care

industry—changes that are now being quantified by research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most recently, the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics published data revealing that more than a quarter of children in the United States visited an urgent care center or other walk-in facility in 2019. Many of those patients visited multiple times. And it stands to reason that their parents would become return visitors, as well.

Check out the graphs below for more detail.

Children Are Visiting Urgent Care in Growing Numbers—Is That Reflected in Your Practice?