Practice Management Putting Patients First: Redefining Quality in the Patient Experience Urgent message: Patients are the ultimate judges of the quality of care you provide, and their opinions are likely to be swayed by factors that have little to do with your clinical expertise or skill. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc S w w w. j u c m . c o m areas, the ability to walk in without an appointment, ex- tended evening/weekend hours, services for the entire family, and affordable pricing make urgent care more com- parable to other service indus- tries than to conventional medical providers. Because of this, patients are likely to compare the service at an ur- gent care center with what they have experienced at retail stores, restaurants, and other retail establishments that have invested significantly in the customer experience. Thus, the opportunity for urgent care operators is to re- define quality along retail standards by answering the most pressing question: Is the patient pleased? Pleasing patients depends on deliv- ering an experience consistent with patient expecta- tions; how well urgent care centers embrace quality from the patient’s perspective will determine their future growth and profitability. © Images.com/Corbis ervice industries—from retail stores to restau- rants, hotels, and even banks—have embraced the customer’s point of view by meshing contempo- rary design, cutting-edge technology, and process en- gineering to develop services that are increasingly afford- able and convenient. But what about health- care? Healthcare expendi- tures topped 17% of U.S. gross domestic product in 2008, according to the Na- tional Coalition for Health Care, and healthcare is one of the nation’s largest service industries. But despite its prominence in the economy, healthcare is plagued with rising costs, decreased accessibility, and increased has- sle for patients. Fortunately, an urgent care center isn’t any ordinary doc- tor’s office—it’s a delivery model that provides care on pa- tients’ terms. Locations in high-traffic retail or residential JUCM T h e J o u r n a l o f U r g e n t C a r e M e d i c i n e | M a y 2 0 0 9 31