Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Building Urgent Care Referral Relationships: Pharmacies and Retail Host Clinics

Urgent message: Viewing other community healthcare providers (e.g., pharmacists) or even possible competitors (e.g., retail clinics) as referral sources can increase revenues and bolster the urgent care center’s place in the healthcare system. The first of two parts. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Urgent Care has evolved to the point that it is a vital part of a community’s healthcare infrastructure, offering access when primary care appointments are unavailable and relief when emergency rooms are …

Utilizing Social Media to Drive Visits to Your Website and Urgent Care Center

In Creating a Web Presence to Raise Awareness of Urgent Care (JUCM, July/August 2009), we described how a well-designed website, optimized for retrieval by major search engines, enables highly targeted and localized promotion of an urgent care center. But establishing a web presence is just the beginning; driving “clicks” to the website and “feet” to the center is enhanced by creating “buzz” in online communities. Historically, word-of-mouth – spread in-person or by telephone – has …

October 2009

Creating a Web Presence to Raise Awareness of Urgent Care

Urgent message: A robust – and effective – advertising campaign needs to take full advantage of all available media, with special consideration of online opportunities. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc In the past, advertising was a simple proposition; nearly everyone attached the same network television, read the same city newspapers, and searched for businesses in the Yellow Pages. But in recent years, such “mass marketing” has yielded to new marketing channels targeting the lifestyles and …

July/August 2009

May 2009

An Introduction to Urgent Care Advertising

Urgent message: Unlike many other practice models, urgent care must appeal directly to the customer to stay “top of mind” and be the first option the patient considers when a need arises. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Urgent care is a healthcare delivery channel built around the needs of consumers – “retail,” from a marketing perspective – with convenient locations, evening and weekend hours, walk-in service, the capability to treat a range of illness or …

March 2009

Failing to Plan—or Planning To Fail? Designing a Clinic for Success

Urgent message: Making the best use of the space you have is not just a matter of comfort and esthetics; an efficient floor plan contributes to providing proper—and cost-effective—care and services. Patrice Pash, RN, BSN, COHC So you’ve signed the lease or purchased the property and you’re sitting there staring at this huge empty shell, dreaming of the potential finished space. What will it look like? How many exam rooms do you need?What additional offices …

Practice Management