OLR Report 2013-R-0263 summarizes how other states define or regulate urgent care, particularly regarding urgent care centers.
There are few statutory definitions of urgent care in the context of urgent care centers. In general, the definitions describe urgent care as an intermediate level of care that is available without an appointment for conditions that are acute but not life-threatening.
Arizona requires a license for urgent care centers. Some states (such as Florida) license urgent care centers under a more general licensure category in some circumstances. The majority of states do not license urgent care centers (but the individual providers must be licensed).
Some states have other laws and requirements regarding urgent care centers. For example, a few states, including Delaware and New Hampshire, restrict how urgent care centers can be named or marketed. For another example, Florida generally requires urgent care centers to publish and post a schedule of charges for the medical services they offer.
Urgent care centers may undertake voluntary accreditation through national organizations such as the American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine (AAUCM) or the Joint Commission (formerly the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations or JCAHO).
Below, this report summarizes examples of state definitions or requirements regarding urgent care or urgent care centers. The report does not discuss requirements in some states for freestanding emergency centers (which typically provide care for more acute conditions than urgent care centers). It also does not discuss definitions related to urgent care for insurance purposes. For example, some states (including Connecticut) define “urgent care requests” for purposes of setting requirements for health insurers' review of such requests.
For more information, read the full report.
