Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Perfecting the Consumer Financial Experience in Your Urgent Care Center

Urgent message: Changes to insurance plan design are resulting in increased financial exposure for patients, with urgent care providers scrambling to adapt to the associated rise in patient consumerism. It therefore behooves the urgent care provider to evolve their financial systems and policies such that they align with emerging point-of-sale best practices in order to meet patient expectations, enhance the revenue cycle, and cultivate patient loyalty. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer …

How to Manage a Toxic Employee

Urgent message: An urgent care center cannot afford to retain employees who undermine work, demoralize others, run off patients, or who seek vengeance. But dealing with toxic employees is more complicated than simply firing them; urgent care operators must have a strategy. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care, LLC and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. The “toxic employee” is one of …

Building Engaged, Productive Teams by Saying Thank You

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care, LLC and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. Urgent message: In an era of widespread worker disengagement, one simple way to improve morale in your urgent care operation is to embrace a “culture of gratitude” which starts with saying the simple phrase, thank you. America has a workplace engagement problem, as evidenced by a consensus …

What is the Liability for an Urgent Care Slandering a Competitor on Social Media?

Urgent message: While competition for patients among urgent care operators can be intense, speaking negatively of a competitor online can lead to unwanted liability. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Competition between businesses can be intense. In some instances, comparisons between one company and another can lead to disparaging and inaccurate claims. This can result in unneeded liability for an urgent care owner. Here, we examine how the law of defamation in social media applies to …

How to Deal with That Colleague Who Turns into a Jerk Whenever the Boss is Gone

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: Coworkers who change personalities when the boss isn’t around are a reality of the workplace. However, there are steps you can take to handle such toxic colleagues, and improve workplace morale and team dynamics. Every urgent care center has that one employee who is utterly pleasant …

Provider Burnout is Real; Show Compassion for Yourself

Urgent message: The life of an urgent care physician entails having compassion for patients, but to prevent the very real phenomenon of physician burnout, compassion should start with yourself. 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. We’ve all heard the announcement on the airline, “Before assisting other passengers, please secure your own oxygen first.” Yet, physicians and …

When the ‘Inner Entrepreneur’ Needs to Step Aside

Urgent message: Being an aggressive founder who is willing to take risks is invaluable when it comes to starting and growing a business. However, after that business becomes established, it’s essential to transition into a new role as a leader so those same traits that helped start the business don’t also ruin it. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care Leaving behind the relative safety of working as a …

The Finer Points of Video Surveillance in an Urgent Care Center

Urgent message: The increasing use of video surveillance in urgent care requires an awareness of the risks and restrictions of such systems used for patient and employee safety. 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. Security is one of the most significant concerns in the operation of an urgent care facility. In this instance, it’s not …

Education is Key to Avoiding Increasingly Sophisticated Cyber Crime

Urgent message: As digital communication becomes more integral to our daily lives and job functions, cybercriminals are increasingly employing nefarious social engineering tactics like “phishing” to steal our valuable personal, professional, and financial information. Urgent care employees at every level should be trained to recognize phishing scams, and how to effectively safeguard themselves and their organizations from attack. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management …

HIPAA-Compliant Disclosure in Workers’ Compensation

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: While a workers’ compensation carrier may want to see a patient’s entire medical record, claiming that such is compliant with HIPAA as the “minimum necessary information to get paid,” urgent care providers should reasonably limit the health information released to the “minimum necessary to accomplish the workers’ …