Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Improving Urgent Care Center Profitability Through Medical Supply Management and Accounting

Urgent message: Many urgent care centers lack an inventory management process and do not accurately account for their utilization of supplies. Improving how a center manages and accounts for supplies can have a direct impact on the bottom line. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc Practice Velocity Introduction A quick and easy way to improve your urgent care center’s profitability may be as close as your supply closet. Many urgent care centers lack defined processes for …

Post-Visit Follow-up Calls: Improving Patient Satisfaction, Center Profitability and Clinical Outcomes

Urgent message: Call-backs within 24 to 48 hours of discharge can identify potential complications, ensure that instructions are followed, and reinforce a positive visit experience. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc, Experity Introduction Urgent care centers provide immediate medical attention to patients who feel their symptoms are too pressing to wait for an appointment with their primary care physician, but not serious enough to warrant a visit to the emergency room (ER). With extended night/weekend hours, …

Achieving Consistency and Scalability in Urgent Care Service Delivery

Urgent message: Investing time in designing repeatable processes and documentation can pay off in a more efficient, effective, and scalable urgent care operation. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc Practice Velocity Introduction Despite management’s best intentions to deliver extraordinary patient experiences, many times employees just don’t know what to do. Front-line staff members are often conflicted between “doing what’s right” for the business, avoiding management scrutiny, exerting extra unrewarded effort, and “doing what’s right” for the …

Market-Driven, Performance- Based Physician Compensation in Urgent Care

Urgent message: Determining compensation for urgent care physicians is a challenge, particularly given the current health care environment. This article provides guidelines for achieving fair compensation based on reliable metrics and objectivity. RICHARD M. CAMERON, MHSA, CMPE and RICK E. WEYMIER, MBA, FACMPE Introduction Physician compensation presents one of the greatest challenges to the success of an urgent care practice because it has an impact on practice culture, physician interelationships, and the ability to attract …

Creating Value By Adding Physical Therapy to Urgent Care – PART II: Tactical Considerations

Urgent message: Part 1 of this article, in the June issue, looked at initial considerations for enhancing urgent care profitability by providing physical therapy services. In Part 2, the authors address tactical considerations, from revenue to staffing models. LAUREL STOIMENOFF, PT and HILARY HELLMAN, SLP Babe Ruth said, “Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.” Consumers have gravitated to ondemand medical services and the market has responded. Urgent care centers now face competition, not only …

Creating Value By Adding Physical Therapy to Urgent Care – Part 1: Initial Considerations & Rationale

Urgent message: Many urgent care clinics face new competition and the landscape for reimbursement is changing. One tactic for enhancing profitability is to consider the addition of new services. Adding Physical Therapy to your practice can result in more satisfied patients, better clinical outcomes and a stronger bottom line. LAUREL STOIMENOFF, PT and HILARY HELLMAN, SLP Eighty percent of Americans will experience low back pain at some time in their lives. Many of these patients …

Establishing Your Online Presence: Website Basics for Urgent Care Operators

Urgent message: Establishing a practice website takes careful planning and execution but it can enhance traditional marketing efforts by providing a central repository of relevant information for prospective patients. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc Practice Velocity When consumers experience a minor illness or injury, numerous questions arise, such as “What do these symptoms mean?” “Can I do something about this myself?” and “What kind of help do I need, where do I get it, and …

Dealing With Employee Termination: Smart Strategies for Optimizing Your Team

Urgent message: Letting employees go is never easy. This article offers tips for protecting your business and yourself if termination is necessary. Among the key recommendations are compiling documentation and seeking legal advice. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc Practice Velocity Letting an employee go, whether due to job performance or economic necessity, is never a pleasant situation. Although an urgent care center strives to provide high-quality patient care, it’s also a business. This means that …

Language Interpretation Services in the Urgent Care Center

Urgent message: Cultivating trust requires good communication and if a language barrier stands between patient and provider, not only are clinical outcomes jeopardized, but the urgent care operation can be subject to legal liability. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc Practice Velocity The demographics of the United States are rapidly changing. Today a language other than English is spoken in 55 million households, 67% of which speak Spanish, and an estimated 19% of Americans have Limited …

Offering Patient WiFi in the Urgent Care Center

Urgent message: The costs of and barriers to adding WiFi to an urgent care center are low and the benefits include a better patient experience and improved perception of wait times. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc, Experity WiFi is now ubiquitous. Step into most any coffee house, theme restaurant, library, shopping mall or other service establishment and you’ll find that Internet access is readily available and usually free of charge. Many hospitals have also introduced …