Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

The Emergence of Retail Clinics

Urgent message: Retail-based healthcare clinics are a growing phenomenon. A report from the California HealthCare Foundation, excerpted here, says public perception is split, and their economic viability remains to be seen. How do their services stack up against those offered by urgent care? The first in-store clinics appeared in 2000 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul (MN) metropolitan area and were operated by QuickMedx, which later became Minute-Clinic. The company’s founder, Rick Krieger, says the business idea …

Developing a Marketing Mindset for Occupational Medicine Services

From a business perspective, successful operation of an urgent care clinic is predicated on the owner’s ability to promote services in an aggressive and meaningful, yet cost effective, manner. This necessity is even more pronounced when occupational health services are included in the mix because such a “blended clinic” deals with two different prospect universes. The starting point in promoting an urgent care practice is to develop and commit to a forward-thinking marketing mindset.

Developing Data: October, 2006

Occ Med Programs Need Business Plans, Too

In all likelihood, you wouldn’t dream of opening a new urgent care clinic without first putting together a business plan. Doesn’t it make sense that key aspects of your overall business would benefit from the same careful planning? Data from the Urgent Care Association of America indicate that over 60% of urgent care companies offer at least some occupational medicine services; nearly 5% of locations offer occ med exclusively. Putting a business plan for your …

Protecting Yourself Against Medical Malpractice Claims

We live and practice medicine in a litigious society. How, then, can providers protect themselves against the threat of financial ruin due to malpractice payouts? The first and most obvious answer is to not commit malpractice; more about that in a moment. The next most likely answer is for providers to purchase malpractice insurance with limits set high enough to protect their personal assets. The median medical malpractice award tripled between 1997 and 2004. By …

Urgent Care Services Rendered

UCA’S SURVEY COMMITTEE drew two important conclusions from its first industry-wide survey: urgent care is a growing industry nationwide, and those within the industry are hungry for benchmarking data. In each issue of JUCM, Developing Data will seek to fulfill that need. In this issue, a look at the breadth of services offered by respondents to the survey: