Urgent care seeing an uptick in patient visits
MINNEAPOLIS — Have a cold after those holiday gatherings? You're not the only one. Doctors at urgent cares say they're seeing a surge in patients as the year comes to an end.
"I think mostly, they are upper respiratories, we've been seeing a lot of those," said Dr. Angela Yiu with Allina Health. "Compared to the summertime, it's probably like a 50% increase."
Wait times are reflecting the surge.
HealthPartners' Urgent Cares across the metro regularly reflect wait times from 2-3+ hours. The average wait times for Allina Health wait times were about the same, with Coon Rapid and Woodbury occasionally seeing wait times reach nearly 6 hours before online registration would close to new check-ins.
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"We're trying. I know that sometimes, waiting for that long in the clinic is not comfortable. But we are really trying hard to reduce that… but there's only so much of us to see patients," Yiu said.
According to a report from the Urgent Care Association, the problem is only expected to get worse. While the number of urgent has doubled across the country over the last decade, the number of healthcare providers has not been able to keep up.
One spot of encouraging news - despite the demand at urgent cares, data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows hospital bed numbers have improved after peaking over the last two weeks.
Dr. Yiu says you should always see a healthcare provider if you have a serious concern. However, unless you have the flu or COVID, doctors at urgent care can't do much you couldn't do yourself.
"Check for COVID, check for influenza, and then after that, you just kind of like try to stay home, to use the over-the-counter medication to help with symptoms. And if there's any, like development of shortness of breath, or others more severe symptoms then come in," she said.
