Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Urgent Care: Bartenders of the Healthcare Gold Rush

URGENT MESSAGE: During the gold rush of the mid-1800s, miners and bartenders enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship in which neither could survive the Wild West without the other. In the modern “gold rush” of U.S. healthcare spending, coordinators of population health and service/technology innovators are working together to improve outcomes and lower costs, propelling new business models—including urgent care. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Practice Management Editor of JUCM—The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, …

We’re All in This Together: Four Attributes of Effective Medical Center Teams

Urgent message: Creating and cultivating cohesive, goal-oriented, and patient-focused urgent care teams starts with visible front-line leaders who emphasize a strong service culture, open communication, personal accountability, and management transparency. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc Practice Velocity Introduction The stress, resentment, and dissatisfaction that one experiences being part of a disconnected and ineffective team are not easily forgotten. Common sense may lead one to believe that the safest path is to ignore the team’s dysfunction and consider it just a part of …

Open for Debate: Minimum Operating Hours for Urgent Care

URGENT MESSAGE: Urgent care’s value proposition is “access,” which includes walk-in availability whenever patients have a medical need. However, could using some minimum operating hours as a defining feature of “urgent care” unintentionally restrict access for tens of millions of Americans living in historically underserved communities with population density insufficient to support opening seven days per week and 3,000 hours per year? Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Practice Management Editor of JUCM—The Journal of …

The Pros and Cons of Acquiring Accounts Receivables in Urgent Care Transactions

URGENT MESSAGE: Unlike most retail and service businesses in which customer transactions result in immediate cash in the register, the nature of insurance and government billing in urgent care creates accounts receivable, which can be a complicating factor when buying or selling an urgent care practice. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Practice Management Editor of JUCM—The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, a member of the Board of Directors of the Urgent Care Association of …

From ZoomCare to ZOOM+: What Can Urgent Care Learn?

Urgent message: ZoomCare, which operates 28 walk-in clinics in the Pacific Northwest, has long been a technological innovator, launching web registration, scheduling, and telemedicine in its markets. In the past year, ZoomCare has evolved further to create ZOOM+, integrating urgent care with insurance, primary care, wellness, specialists, and ancillary services. As ZOOM+ redefines the future of urgent care around the needs of its community, there is much that other urgent care operators can learn in attaining revenue growth from a maturing …

The Importance of Having a Solid Job Description for Every Position in the Urgent Care Center

Urgent message: Having concise, complete, and up-to-date job descriptions for all employees in an urgent care center will pay off with better role performance, fewer employment disputes, and hopefully the elimination of the possibility of legal action. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc, Experity Between 2012 and 2022, according to the U.S. Economic Census, health-care employment is expected to increase by 2.6% annually—or by 5 million jobs. This rate is approximately five times that projected for …

Drug-Resistant Lice: A Nuisance or an Opportunity for Urgent Care?

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Practice Management Editor of JUCM, The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, a member of the Board of Directors of the Urgent Care Association of America, and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Practice Velocity. URGENT MESSAGE: Twenty-five states are now seeing head lice that are resistant to most common over-the-counter remedies, creating a nuisance for parents and a potential business opportunity for urgent care. Between 6 and 12 million …

Providing Health Insurance for Employees of Urgent Care Centers: An Obligation or Added Benefit?

URGENT MESSAGE: Five years after the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)—also known as the “Affordable Care Act,” or “Obamacare”—many independent urgent care practices are still uncertain of their obligations. In addition to legal mandates, a competitive job market can make a compelling case for offering or subsidizing employee health benefits. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Practice Manager Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, a member of the …

After Signing the Lease: Ensuring a Successful Build-Out of Your Urgent Care Center

Urgent message: This exclusive interview with Brent Johnson, Vice President of Midland General Contractors, focuses on dealing with general contractors, time lines, the permit process, build-out costs, and common pitfalls when setting up a new urgent care center. Introduction “Location, location, location” has long been the success mantra of the retail and service industries. Because urgent care centers are a consumer-facing delivery channel for health care, location is also a key success determinant in that field. High traffic counts, good signage visibility, high …

States Grapple with Their Own Regulatory Approach to Urgent Care

URGENT MESSAGE: Urgent care centers are subject to myriad oversight by individual states, accrediting bodies, Medicare/Medicaid, and private insurance companies. Still, the patchwork nature of state regulatory and legislative trends impacting urgent care in 2015 raises questions—and expectations—for what might be coming next year. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, a member of the Board of Directors of the Urgent Care Association, and Vice President …