Practice Management
Texas Children’s Hospital may not have an actual hospital in Austin, TX, but they’ll have a presence by virtue of plans to open pediatric urgent care centers and other facilities there over the next 3 years. Those centers, along with primary care practices, pediatric specialty clinics, and maternal-fetal medical practices, will be standalone locations that are not connected to any physical hospital in the vicinity. In effect, Texas Children’s will be using urgent care and its …
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As we’ve told you previously, visionary urgent care operators are finding golden opportunities in empty spaces that in years past would not have been considered prime locations for healthcare facilities (banks, restaurants…). Now it looks like there could be similar opportunity in retail space being vacated in larger shopping centers and malls. An article in Business Insider suggests that big retail spaces, already finding it harder to fill vacancies with traditional shopping outlets, will have …
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The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) wants to test the viability of allowing veterans covered by their plans to get care at CVS MinuteClinics. The new program, limited to the Phoenix area, is seemingly a response to complaints that veterans notoriously have to wait an inordinate amount of time to see providers at VA health centers. The pilot waves the VA Choice program rule that says veterans must wait 30 days or have to drive …
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Urgent care operator CityMD’s steady expansion in the New York metropolitan area has made it an appealing prospect for private equity, with Warburg Pincus LLC said to be putting down $600 million to bring it into its healthcare fold. CityMD has some 68 locations currently, after starting with a single New York City center in 2010. The company bought one of its competitors, Premier Care, but also built new locations as part of its growth …
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Downturns in other industries (remember video stores?) have proven to be golden opportunities for urgent care, as landlords eager to find solid customers have come to appreciate the industry’s stability. Now it appears that 10% of retail space may be up for grabs in the next few years, according to data from CoStar Group, thanks to the ever-growing popularity of online retailers. A fondness for take-out food is also hurting middle-of-the-road restaurants. Healthcare is practically …
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The urgent care industry has gone from upstart to “an established segment of the U.S. healthcare industry,” according to a new report from Kalorama Information, which put the overall value of the market at $15 billion. Even better, Kalorama predicts it will continue to grow annually through at least 2021. Over that time, cold, flu, and sore throat will continue to be the primary complaints that drive patients to seek urgent care, followed by lacerations, …
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Many urgent care operators work hard to get their employees to take ownership of their jobs. Now one of the key stakeholders in the growth of the urgent care industry has taken those efforts to the next level by literally making employees partial owners of the company they work for. Practice Velocity CEO David Stern, MD surprised employees at a recent town hall-style meeting by telling them how much he appreciates the positivity they bring …
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Geisinger Health System is turning away from industry trends that see physicians being paid bonuses tied to quality and patient satisfaction, instead vowing to pay them straight salaries that are at or above national averages for compensation. Previously, Geisinger has paid their 1,600 physicians—including those staffing their urgent care centers—based on a formula of 80% salary and 20% performance bonus, as is common these days (though the percentages may vary somewhat from system to system). …
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Just last week we told you that Code 3 Emergency Partners was setting up shop with an urgent care center and freestanding emergency room at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Now the company has announced plans for an urgent care center and pharmacy at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, as well; that location is slated to open in May of this year. The moves are far from random, as Code 3 CEO Carrie de …
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Whether it’s due to changes in the healthcare insurance landscape, the habits of millennials, or just plain societal evolution, the public continues to recognize urgent care as a viable option more every year—reflected in the increasing number of centers around the country (up 10% since 2015, according to the Urgent Care Association of America). Hospitals were a little late to the party, but are making up for lost time by continuing to open their own …
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