Practice

Patients come to your urgent care center for very important, personal, and specific reasons—most often because they’re ill or injured and need your help. So, it’s only logical that they would need a compelling reason to leave before they’ve even been seen by one of your providers. According to the results of a survey by the Urgent Care Association, the top reason is one that could be controllable to a large degree; wait time was …

Not too long ago, we shared news about a Mayo Clinic Proceedingsstudy that found only 57.1% of respondents would choose to become a physician again. That should have come as no surprise, in light of other pieces of the data—particularly the revelation that 62.8% of respondents claimed at least one manifestation of burnout. Now comes news that many clinicians may be either dealing with or trying to prevent going down that road by cutting back …

It’s unlikely that an urgent care operation could build a robust marketing presence without savvy use of social media. From basic Facebook pages to more sophisticated use of Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and other platforms, the only real limits are in the user’s field of vision. The same source of potentially rich rewards is also a minefield where one misstep can ruin the center’s reputation, however. The same goes for individuals within the operation, of course. …

An after-hours fire that struck St. Peter’s Urgent Care – North in Helena, MT should serve as a wake-up call for any urgent care operators who are unsure whether they’ve taken adequate preventive steps and have a plan in place in case such a disaster does occur. As reported by the Independent Record, the source of the blaze was a lithium battery that caused a printer to overheat. It tripped the alarms and sprinkler system …

The odds of seeing a car or other vehicle come crashing through the front of your urgent care center are awfully small—until it happens, of course. Imperial Health Urgent Care in Lake Charles, LA was on the receiving end of just such an event recently when a driver apparently shifted their vehicle into “drive” instead of “reverse” and plowed through the front end of the facility. As reported by KPLC 7 News, there were no …

While some purists may bristle at the notion, it’s a fact that an abundance of virtual and in-person options has allowed individuals the freedom to do more comparison-shopping for healthcare providers than ever before. As an article just published by the Harvard Business Review notes succinctly, when it comes to their medical care “patients in the United States aren’t loyal customers.” In fact, it goes on to reveal, they’re likely to access care from between …

Anyone with a working knowledge of urgent care services knows it’s typical for an urgent care center to offer x-rays on site. And even if the general public has a vague awareness of that, they could probably stand some reminding—especially if you have the opportunity to also let them know that you’re investing in your business so you can take even better care of them. Graham County Urgent Care and Family Practice in North Carolina, …

It wasn’t that long ago that we reported various health emergencies declared to help the country cope with the COVID-19 pandemic would be expiring this May. Now the United States Senate has passed a resolution to end the declarations immediately upon President Biden’s signature—which, according to an article published by Becker’s Hospital Review, he’s likely to provide. Different declarations cover different aspects of providing care. For a good overview, check out the summary created by …

Community media resources are rife with articles and posts aiming to help readers understand when it makes sense to visit a hospital emergency room vs urgent care vs a retail pharmacy clinic. The Chicago-area Daily Herald just ran one listing complaints appropriate for presentation to various settings, for example. (For the record, their list for urgent care includes allergic reaction, sore throat, ear infection, sprains, animal bites, flu symptoms, minor burns and injuries, and broken …