More millennials are forgoing the traditional route of having a primary care doctor in favor of using convenient urgent care centers and clinics for on-demand treatment when they are sick, according to Kaiser Health News.
Out of 1,200 randomly selected adults, 26 percent don’t have a primary care physician, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted in July. Among adults ages 18 to 29, 45 percent did not have a primary care provider. That figure dropped to 28 percent of those 30 to 48 years old, 18 percent among 50 to 64 year-olds and 12 percent among adults 65 and older.
Younger adults prefer to use more convenient care options instead of traditional primary care. It can take several days to get an appointment with a primary care provider and prices are often not revealed until after services are provided. Urgent care clinics, which have rapidly appeared all over the country, offer walk-in options and same-day appointments, while prices are also often posted online.
This cheaper and faster option comes with some other side effects, however, including the loss of the patient-physician relationship. Other studies have shown that urgent care clinics prescribe antibiotics more often than primary care providers, sometimes unnecessarily, according to Kaiser.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."