It is all about location: the performance of urgent care centers by proximity to an emergency room in a general hospital

Background: The gradual increase in referrals to the busy Emergency Departments (ED) raises concerns about the potential negative effect on the quality of medical care and patient satisfaction. Urgent Care Center (UCC) provides an alternative to the ED for non-life saving medical conditions. This study aimed to compare the admission rates, reasons for referrals and patient’s satisfaction amongst UCCs based on their distance from the nearest ED. Methods: This cross-sectional study included all medical records of four UCCs between 2017 and 2020. Admission rates, reasons for referrals, and patients' satisfaction were compared between UCCs located near and ED located farther away. Results: The study included 216,903 patients with an average age of 32.4±24.4 years. Most referrals were independent, with 37.7% occurring on weekends. The average triage time and total time spent in the UCCs were approximately 5.3 minutes and 62.8 minutes, respectively. The proportion of residents visiting UCCs in cities with an ED was 14.4% with a level of satisfaction of 91.5%, compared with UCCs in cities without ED where these figures were 23.7% and 84.4%, respectively. UCCs in northern Israel treated more patients with trauma/injury (33.0%) than UCCs in southern Israel (28.2%). Conclusions: UCCs in the two locations without an ED received a higher volume of patients, while their satisfaction levels were lower. UCC serves as an alternative to ED for non-lifesaving medical conditions.