Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Responding to Personal Technology in the Urgent Care Workplace

Urgent message: Given the ubiquity of smartphones and other mobile devices, urgent care operators must have a strategy and policy in place to deal with the privacy implications of personal technologies in the workplace. Mobile devices like tablets and smartphones have become ubiquitous in everyday life, and employers in every industry are increasingly seeing employees access their devices throughout the workday. While concerns over lost productivity should concern all employers, healthcare is unique in the …

Retaining and Developing Your Best Employees

Urgent message: An urgent care operation’s success is determined greatly by the quality of its workforce. Consequently, in increasingly competitive labor markets, urgent care operators need to invest in their strongest employees to get them to stay. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. While we often point to location, marketing, systems, and other “success factors” in …

A Candid Look at Physician Misconduct

Urgent message: Physicians are expected to be leaders in the urgent care practice, but they are also human and prone to inappropriate behavior. It’s thus critical for urgent care operators to establish processes for investigating, documenting, and responding to allegations of physician misconduct. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. On any given day, there is no …

Invest Personally and Professionally in Your Organization

Urgent message: The difference between being a “business owner” and “just an employee” is the personal degree of investment one has in his or her organization. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. What differentiates an “outstanding” from a “mediocre” employee? While factors like dependability, attention to detail, and pleasant demeanor might be the first come to …

Implement Scalable, Repeatable Processes to Grow Your Practice

Urgent message: Patients may find it difficult to understand when it makes the most sense to visit your urgent care locations if the level of acuity varies from one location to the next. Instituting repeatable processes and creating a consistent “brand promise” are essential to building a stable identity and making it easy for patients to trust your operation. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Practice Velocity, LLC and …

To Lease or Buy Medical Equipment: What’s Best for Your Practice?

Urgent message: Give ample consideration to the key factors—your credit history, taxes, technology, the cost of maintenance, and what your business truly needs—before deciding whether buying or leasing equipment is best for your urgent care operation. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Practice Velocity, LLC and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. Whether to lease or buy equipment for your urgent care center is …

Respirator Fit Exams Breathe New Life into Occ Med Urgent Care Offerings

Urgent Message: Urgent care centers that offer occupational medicine services play an important role in protecting the safety of the nation’s workforce. One such service—offering respiratory fit testing—constitutes an important element of that mission while also creating a distinct revenue stream. To truly maximize the potential of offering this valuable eservice, however, it is important to understand the OSHA regulations, secure proper equipment, and assure staff is properly trained to conduct respirator fit tests. Alan …

Legal Restriction of Urgent Care Businesses by Municipalities

Urgent Message: As some municipalities have considered placing—or have already placed—restrictions on the opening of new urgent care centers in their communities, urgent care developers should understand the legality and business impact of such local moratoria. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Practice Velocity, LLC and is Practice Management Editor for The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. Recently, after much consideration, the Manhattan Beach (CA) City Council rejected a …

How to Make Workplace Meetings More Productive

Urgent message: Despite most employees’ abhorrence to meetings, they indeed serve a valuable organizational purpose. The key is to keep them short, focused, free of distractions, and actionable. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Practice Velocity, LLC and Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. The next time you find yourself bored and distracted in yet another meeting, take solace in the fact that you’re not …

Cultivating Change in the Workplace

Urgent message: The strength of an urgent care operation ultimately lies in its people; for any change initiative to be successful, your center’s staff has to be prepared and willing to embrace change. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Practice Velocity, LLC and is Practice Management Editor for The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. In the workplace, as in life, the only real constant is change. And nowhere is …