Millennials’ preference for walk-in care compared with traditional, office-based primary care has been well documented. And the fact that Americans born between 1980 and 1996 are visiting urgent care centers in ever-growing numbers makes sense; they don’t like the idea of making appointments or having an ongoing relationship with one medical provider, and really don’t like going to see a provider unless they’re sick—and then they want to see one now. So, the news that as an age group they’re less healthy than preceding age groups at the same age, and an awareness of their most pressing problems, could affect how you run your business for years to come. An article recently published on Healthline notes that Millennials between the ages of 34 and 36 are 11% less healthy then Gen Xers (those born between 1965 and 1980) were at that age. That revelation is based on the incidence of the top 10 health conditions overall. To make matters worse, Millennials have seen double-digit increases in eight of top 10 health conditions. At the same time, 83% consider themselves to be in good or excellent health. This underscores the importance of being vigilant for the most common maladies. According to the Healthline piece, the top 10 conditions affecting millennials, in order, are:
- Major depression
- Substance use disorder
- Alcohol use disorder
- Hypertension
- Hyperactivity
- Psychotic conditions
- Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
- High cholesterol
- Tobacco use disorder
- Type 2 diabetes
Obviously, not all of those fall naturally in the urgent care provider’s expertise. Given that Millennials are likely to present to urgent care more often than other settings, however, it’s information that can be useful in probing and considering referrals when necessary.