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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued an updated policy statement making recommendations and highlighting gaps in knowledge about the treatment of children in urgent care centers. 

According to estimates from the Urgent Care Association of America, urgent care centers provide care for more than 150 million adults and pediatric every year. The policy statement from AAP highlighted the fact that while the treatment of children at freestanding urgent care facilities was becoming widespread, research on its nature, scope, quality and outcomes remained limited. 

The updated policy statement offered new guidance on how these urgent care providers can enhance their services for children and become safer in the long run.

"To make this model successful, we need a basic research and education in what is working and what is not when it comes to the treatment of children in urgent care centers in the United States," said Dr. Gregory Conners, MD, MPH, MBA, Chief of the Division of Emergency and Urgent Care at Children's Mercy Hospital, in the press release. "We need to clearly define when urgent care is appropriate for children and make sure it is well integrated with the child's primary care."

The updated statement urged that urgent care facilities serving children should be also able to provide timely evaluation, stabilization and initiate transfer of children with emergencies.

The guidelines titled "Pediatric Care Recommendations for Freestanding Urgent Care Facilities" are published in the May 2014 issue of the journal Pediatrics.