Flu season in full swing. It’s the time of year urgent care clinics traditionally experience a surge of patients experiencing respiratory illness. And although the COVID years disrupted flu patterns all over the world, seasonal visits are likely returning to pre-epidemic trends. Over the last month, urgent care clinics have seen a significant surge in flu positivity, as well as RSV, and COVID. According to Experity client data, positivity rates increased 223 percent since the end of November. According to the CDC, as of December 27, the amount of acute respiratory illness causing people to seek healthcare is high nationally.
FLU/RSV POSITIVITY SURGE
Seasonal influenza, COVID-19, and RSV activity continue to increase across the country. They estimate that there have been at least 3.1 million illnesses, 37,000 hospitalizations, and 1,500 deaths from flu so far this season.
Source: CDC
Visits Per Clinic Per Day
After a steady increase from a low of 23 average visits per clinic per day in July to 28 visits in August, visit volume has surged to over 30 visits per visit per day – an increase of more than 20 percent since the end of November.
Source: Experity Data
VIRAL POSITITY BY CATEGORY – EXPERITY CLINICS
As of January 1, Experity clinics are reporting significant increase in flu positivity rates, up from seven percent in early November to nearly 24 percent as of January 1. Testing continues to be a high priority with so many cases identified.
Source: Experity Data
PNEUMONIA TRENDS – EXPERITY CLINICS
Pneumonia visits are also climbing, especially among young patients from toddlers to teens. Providers are accustomed to seeing a spike like this every three to five years, which didn’t occur during the COVID pandemic. What makes this season different is the prevalence in toddlers, who have not traditionally been as affected as school-age children.
Source: Experity Data
Urgent Care Quarterly
Want more industry data? Check out the latest version of Urgent Care Quarterly where we review the state of the urgent care industry and provide the latest data on other metrics that matter to your practice.
Check out some of our top resources to help urgent cares manage and leverage fluctuating visit volume to secure continued business growth throughout the year.
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