With the decade about to come to a close, Crain’s Health Pulse considered what some of the biggest healthcare stories of the 2010s were—concluding that the ongoing “rise of urgent care” is significant among them. A Look Back at the 2010s: The Rise of Urgent Care notes that what made the period of 2010–2019 so good for urgent care as a business model is likely to spur further growth in 2020 and beyond. Where evolving consumer preferences—the desire for convenience, in particular—moved many to consider urgent care for the first time, and helped urgent care operators refine how they do business, those preferences have now become expectations. Fail to meet them, and consumers will find somewhere else to go when they need same-day care. With “patient choices no longer confined to scheduling the next available doctor’s appointment or heading to the emergency room,” as the article puts it, more traditional healthcare settings would be hard pressed to meet demand, further strengthening urgent care’s position. Looking ahead, the article suggest that telemedicine will continue to grow in consumer appeal.