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The expansion of WellNow urgent care centers in upstate New York had a measurable effect on patient health and healthcare system performance, according to a study published in Economics & Human Biology. Results show that the opening of WellNow urgent cares was associated with self-rated health increasing slightly (by about 0.04 on a 5-point scale), and individuals in the community experienced 0.3–0.5 fewer poor physical health days per month. There was no measurable impact on mental health outcomes. From an operational standpoint, adding new urgent care rooftops did not significantly change hospital volumes, charges, or mortality rates, suggesting no direct impact on hospital utilization. However, the entry of new WellNow urgent cares did improve local system efficiency with hospital wait times decreasing, fewer patients leaving without being seen, and more individuals receiving routine annual checkups. WellNow was the only operator to open centers in the study area during the study period, which led to improvements in the local community, according to the authors. Researchers examined hospital utilization data during 2010–2019 and hospital wait time measures during 2012–2019. They tracked WellNow urgent care center openings from 2012 through 2019.
Top of the list: WellNow is the dominant urgent care player in upstate New York, and it often ranks as a national frontrunner in Urgent Care’s Top 100 from JUCM. Watch for the 2026 update of the Top 100 coming this summer.