Practice Management
Urgent message: Though patient waits are often unavoidable, understanding and addressing the causes can help mitigate negative impact on the patient and the practice. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc, Experity The term “urgent care” conveys immediate medical attention, so it’s no surprise that the greatest determinant of customer satisfaction for an urgent care center is how quickly patients are treated and released. But how does a busy walk-in clinic which must be prepared to handle …
Read MoreJOHN SHUFELDT, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP In this challenging financial market, in this space (urgent care medicine), should bankruptcy be something with which you are overly concerned? The answer is an unequivocal, “yes!” Urgent care ownership is not for the faint of heart or the short of capital. As a friend of mine said, “This business has a lot of moving parts and misfiring on any one of them can cause your business to be …
Read MoreAs an emerging distinct practice environment, urgent care is in the early stages of building a data set specific to its norms and practices. In Developing Data, JUCM will offer results not only from UCA’s annual benchmarking surveys, but also from research conducted elsewhere to present an expansive view of the healthcare marketplace in which urgent care seeks to strengthen its presence. In this issue: What effect does the presence of a retail clinic have …
Read MoreDAVID STERN, MD (Practice Velocity) Q.For uninsured patients, how much discount should be given—70% off charges? Particularly in California. A.It would be extremely rare to offer such a big discount to self-pay patients. It would be unadvisable for the following reasons: Unless your fee schedule is ridiculously high, you could not operate profitably at these Discounts should be given not for being self-pay, specif- ically, but for paying in full at time of You will …
Read MoreAvoidance, sometimes even more than appeal, appears to be a very real part of decision making at every level. Given sufficient probing, most sales prospects harbor inner fears that can be successfully addressed. Buyers of occupational health services have two basic motivations: helping their parent company save money, and making their own life easier. Most occupational health sales presentations emphasize the former: reduce injury/illness incidence and associated lost work time, save the employer money, and …
Read MoreAs an emerging distinct practice environment, urgent care is in the early stages of building a data set specific to its norms and practices. In Developing Data, JUCM will offer results not only from UCA’s annual benchmarking surveys, but also from research conducted elsewhere to present an expansive view of the healthcare marketplace in which urgent care seeks to strengthen its presence. In this issue: What is the relationship between wait times and the comfort …
Read MoreDAVID STERN, MD (Practice Velocity) Q.My office has started to provide urgent care. Should these services be reimbursed at a higher price than for our family practice services? Is there a different fee schedule? Question submitted by Nicole Phelps, First Health Medical, Fresno, CA A.Here is the scoop on coding and reimbursement for urgent care: Some payors will pay more for urgent care services over primary care services, but you will almost cer- tainly need …
Read MoreCustomer service is a trendy theme in virtually every business these days. However, the gap between “woulda, shoulda, coulda” and reality is invariably significant. Simply put, the concept of customer service is given universal lip service, but it is rarely incorporated into the fabric of an urgent care clinic. An effective patient service program requires five core elements: planning, training, execution, evaluation, and reward/recognition. Planning Your program should have a well-designed plan that addresses train- …
Read MoreJOHN SHUFELDT, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP Customer service is a trendy theme in virtually every business these days. However, the gap between “woulda, shoulda, coulda” and reality is invariably significant. Simply put, the concept of customer service is given universal lip service, but it is rarely incorporated into the fabric of an urgent care clinic. An effective patient service program requires five core elements: planning, training, execution, evaluation, and reward/recognition.
Read MoreJOHN SHUFELDT, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP My favorite movie—other than Wedding Crashers, of course—is It’s a Wonderful Life. I watch it every Christmas. One of the most memorable scenes is where Uncle Billy misplaces the envelope containing the deposits. Once George realizes the gravity of the situation, he confronts Uncle Billy: “Where’s that money, you stupid old fool? Where’s that money? Do you realize what this means? It means bankruptcy and scandal and prison, that’s …
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