New Research: Only 36% of Children's Hospitals Show Wait Times, Revealing Major Opportunities to Transform Digital Urgent Care Experience for Families

Corporate Insight teams with Klein & Partners for first-ever comprehensive analysis of pediatric urgent care digital experiences

NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Children's hospitals have major opportunities to use digital tools to better serve anxious parents during time-sensitive care decisions, according to new research from Corporate Insight (CI) in partnership with Klein & Partners.

"There's a fundamental disconnect between what stressed parents need when their children require time-sensitive care and what hospital websites currently deliver," says Lauren Roncevic, senior director of healthcare research at CI. "With 43% of children using urgent care annually—mostly as Plan B to primary care providers—health systems can create better outcomes for families with tools that provide more information and options during these high stress times."

The first-of-its-kind Pediatric Urgent Care: Comparative Analysis Report, from CI's Health System Monitor research, evaluates 11 leading pediatric hospitals' urgent care digital experiences. The report finds a significant disconnect between what stressed parents need and what hospital digital channels deliver. The study combines CI's comprehensive website evaluation with Klein & Partners' 2025 National Consumer Insights Study (NCIS): Peds Edition to identify critical gaps in pediatric urgent care access.

Wait Times Drive Pediatric Urgent Care Decisions

The research finds that nearly all pediatric hospital websites have invested in basic urgent care information, but significant opportunities remain to transform these websites from static information repositories into dynamic decision-support tools. Key findings of this gap analysis include:

• Wait Time Transparency: Only 36% of hospitals show estimated wait times, despite this being the primary decision driver for parents
• Triage Education: Every organization outlines the difference between the emergency room and urgent care, but just 55% detail the difference between urgent care and primary care
• Virtual Care Integration: Only 27% of organizations route parents to virtual urgent care options, missing opportunities to offer families a faster option when remote care is clinically appropriate

Research Partnership Delivers Parent-Centric Insights

CI's collaboration with Klein & Partners represents the first study to combine CI's in-depth website research with Klein & Partners' primary pediatric decision-making research.  

"This research partnership allows organizations to better understand and respond to the real-world decision-making pressures parents face," says Rob Klein, founder and CEO of Klein & Partners. "Parents have to navigate complex care decisions for their children while managing time constraints and information gaps. This new research helps organizations  understand the role digital plays in the parents' overall healthcare decision-making process."

Methodology

CI's Health System Monitor Report examines urgent care pages from 11 leading pediatric hospitals, evaluating findability, design, user experience features, and content from a parent's perspective seeking urgent care for their child. Klein & Partners' consumer research surveyed 1,000 parents nationally about pediatric healthcare decision-making behaviors and preferences.

Organizations included in the Corporate Insight analysis: Arkansas Children's Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital Colorado, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Cincinnati Children's, Comer Children's Hospital, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Rady Children's Health, Seattle Children's Hospital, Texas Children's Hospital.

To access the full Pediatric Urgent Care: Comparative Analysis Report, including detailed findings and best practices, visit Corporate Insight.

About Klein & Partners

For 20 years, Klein & Partners has provided strategic counsel well beyond the numbers to hundreds of leading healthcare brands helping clients find their brand's voice. Our comprehensive suite of focused brand and advertising research tools helps clients: 1) develop a strong brand and an effective message to promote that brand; 2) track their brand's progress both in the short-term and in the long-run; 3) provide detailed service line information designed specifically to help service line brand managers plan;  and 4) gather and prioritize real-time website visitor experience feedback.

Learn more at www.kleinandpartners.com.

About Corporate Insight

Corporate Insight (CI) delivers competitive intelligence, user experience research and consulting services to the nation's leading financial services, insurance and healthcare organizations. As the recognized industry leader in customer experience research for over 30 years, we have been the trusted partner to corporations seeking to improve their digital capabilities and user experience. Our best-in-class research platform and unique approach of analyzing the actual customer experience help corporations advance their competitive position in the marketplace.

For media inquiries, research samples, or to schedule an analyst interview:
Patrick Flood
646-876-7535
[email protected]

SOURCE Corporate Insight