Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Why Employee Feedback Doesn’t Always Result in Improved Performance

Urgent message: Despite conventional wisdom, extensive research has shown that giving feedback at work—ostensibly to foster learning and improved performance—often has the opposite effect. The challenge for urgent care leaders, therefore, becomes learning to instead recognize excellent outcomes, and then nurture and reinforce the behaviors that led to them. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. When …

How Best to Manage an ‘At-Will’ Termination

Urgent message: In most states, employment is at will—meaning that an employer can fire or terminate an employee at any time, for any reason that is not against the law. Even so, the employment at-will doctrine isn’t a license for an employer to fire employees at the drop of a hat. There are still critical considerations for urgent care operators to heed when terminating a provider or staff member. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is …

Want to Become an Effective Urgent Care Leader?

Urgent message: Academic research shows that the most effective way to lead is to provide personalized, actionable “on the job” direction and feedback effectually “teaching” employees as they work. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care. Operating an urgent care center can be a challenge for even the most experienced manager. Although we frequently compare urgent care to …

Urgent Care Patients Want Action, Not Apologies

Urgent message: While conventional customer service training emphasizes the need to listen to patient concerns, the best response typically isn’t an apology, but rather corrective action to either solve or prevent the underlying shortcoming. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. Customer service is at the heart of any business. Whether it’s a retail outlet or an …

Practical Considerations for Buying/Selling Your Urgent Care Practice

Urgent message: As urgent care remains a hotbed of merger, acquisition, and transactional activity, owners and operators may see a prime opportunity to sell their practices at maximum market value. The complexities of selling (or buying) an urgent care practice can make it a daunting undertaking, however, and thus requires careful planning, expert counsel, and due diligence to pull off successfully. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and …

Do Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants Qualify for Overtime in the Urgent Care Setting?

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. Urgent message: Physician assistants and nurse practitioners perform many of the same tasks as physicians in urgent care settings, but ambiguity as to the nature of their practice means additional consideration must be given in how their pay is structured. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act1 (FLSA) states that all …

DOs Ascending—How the Growth of Osteopathy Might Save Urgent Care from the Looming Physician Shortage

Urgent message: As the ever-growing physician shortage continues to strain the long-term viability of the nation’s healthcare system, urgent care would be well-served to cultivate relationships with osteopathic medicine schools toward tapping a potentially fertile yet underutilized clinical resource. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. The United States healthcare system continues to face a serious and …

Biggest Management Decision-Making Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Urgent message: The entrepreneurial nature of urgent care “business” means that care providers are frequently thrust into management decision-making, for which they are unprepared—putting them at risk for common but avoidable mistakes. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. Owners and operators in the healthcare industry have a lot on their plate. There’s no getting …

How to Make Yourself Indispensable

Urgent message: In today’s rapidly changing and hypercompetitive business environment, you don’t have to “reinvent yourself” to become “indispensable.” Rather, you should focus on adding complementary skills to your current strengths. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. The unfortunate reality of today’s managerial world is that turnover happens all the time. Moreover, it happens …

What Exactly Are Whistleblower Lawsuits—and How Can You Protect Your Urgent Care Operation?

Urgent message: The increasingly visibility of “whistleblower cases,” in which employees share in any fines from reporting their employer’s malfeasance to federal and state authorities, calls for urgent care center owners to understand the False Claims Act and the whistleblower lawsuit process. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. A “whistleblower” is an employee who makes complaints …