Yale New Haven Health Urgent Care operates 23 urgent care centers and a 24/7 virtual care service. As part of Yale New Haven Health, it can connect patients who need additional treatment with specialists and other follow-up care within the health system.
In one case, a patient who came to urgent care with a lingering cough was connected within 10 days with oncology, pulmonology, a new primary care provider and a biopsy appointment after the urgent care team escalated the case.
What have been the organization’s significant contributions in the past year?
In the past year, we opened four new centers and launched three integrated care pathways that guide patients to the right next step when needs extend beyond urgent care. These integrations have connected over 22,000 patients to specialists or follow-up care within Yale New Haven Health.
Our orthopedics integration connects patients with an orthopedic provider within 48 hours, versus a typical two-week timeline, and our nurse triage line has placed over 500 patients onto same-day or virtual schedules.
We built these pathways because urgent care should be the start of a patient’s journey — connecting them to everything they need next.
What are some major challenges the organization had to overcome?
The biggest challenge was a fragmented referral process, where referrals often stalled on technicalities. We solved it by building direct partnerships with our health system partners, getting patients into specialty care much faster.
What’s the organization’s next major goal and/or challenge?
We’re expanding integrated pathways to include dermatology, urology, radiology and more, while continuing to open new centers across the region. The goal: every patient who walks through our door leaves with a clear next step in their healthcare journey, no matter what they need.
