Trends in Urgent Care Utilization Among Medicare Beneficiaries From 2012 to 2019
In this cross-sectional analysis, UC utilization increased markedly among older adults, with a disproportionate concentration in urban, less-disadvantaged communities. The distribution of clinician training and specialty also changed, with APPs delivering care for more than half of UC visits among older adults in 2019. These findings highlight the evolving patterns of acute care delivery for this growing population and the need for additional evidence on how these trends are associated with patient-centered outcomes and the efficiency of care.
Authors
- Ryan C. Burke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5327-5735)
- Ari B. Friedman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0412-6754)
- Laura G. Burke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6365-0869)
- Michelle Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0219-027X)
- Barbara A Masser
- Joel Mantilla
- E. John Orav
- Richard E. Wolfe
Institutions
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
- Rhode Island Department of Health (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Florida International University (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- Brown University (US)
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Stanford University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- JAMA Network Open
- Published
- 2026-01-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.55345
- Primary Topic
- Emergency and Acute Care Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00