Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

A Capitol Idea: The Highly Competitive Washington, DC Market Holds Insights For Urgent Care Success

Urgent message: While the Washington, DC metro area has the population density, affluence and economic stability to make it attractive for urgent care, an examination of the dynamics and challenges of such a fiercely competitive, crowded market can reveal success strategies that can be applied in any urgent care market. Alan Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. The …

Smoothing Ebb-and-Flow for Greater Staff Efficiency and Shorter Wait Times in Urgent Care

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. Urgent message: Integration of healthcare delivery with mobile technology is leading more urgent care operators to embrace digital queuing systems that, given their ability to positively impact patient wait times, offer the promise of elevating the patient experience—and a distinct competitive advantage. In a perfect world, every patient who showed …

What Urgent Care Operators Need to Know About OSHA

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. Urgent message: Though the topic of OSHA doesn’t often come up in the context of urgent care facilities themselves, operators are nevertheless required to have a thorough understanding of its standards and guidelines towards ensuring their facilities are in compliance, and that the health and safety of employees, patients, and …

If Your Business Doesn’t Work on Paper, It Won’t Work in Reality!

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer at Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. Urgent message: A business plan should never be a formality to meet bank or investor requirements. Rather, it should represent a rigorous testing of all your analyses and assumptions around a business decision. Because, sometimes, the “best” outcome from diligent business planning just might be the decision to forego the opportunity …

What to Do If A Competing Urgent Care Opens in Your Community

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. Urgent message: As the country’s urgent care markets become increasingly saturated, the forward-thinking operator will have a strategic patient-retention strategy ready when a competitor inevitably opens up shop in their community. As the urgent care market continues its yearly growth of around 8%, per the Urgent Care Association’s 2018 Benchmarking …

Legal Considerations for Expedited Partner Therapy in Urgent Care

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. Urgent message: Expedited Partner Therapy enables a provider, when treating a patient for a sexually transmitted infection, to give a second prescription for the patient’s partner without having to examine the partner. Introduction Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT) is the clinical practice of treating the sex partners of patients diagnosed with …

Five Steps for Winning Over Millennials in Urgent Care

Urgent message: Millennials constantly get a bad rap for “ruining” tried-and-tested ways of doing business. While it’s true that widespread consumer interest and demand have radically altered the way products and services must be offered, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For urgent care owner/operators, Millennials can actually be a huge component of a center’s success. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of …

Can Urgent Care Patients be Treated Anonymously?

Urgent message: Due to the perceived “acute nature” of the urgent care setting, many patients falsely believe that they can be treated anonymously. On the contrary, legal implications, insurance practices, and the integration of technology with medical records mean that delivering anonymous care is nearly impossible. 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. Healthcare is intensely personal, …

Rural and Tertiary Markets: The Next Urgent Care Frontier

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. Urgent message: Given the oversaturation and resulting fierce competition among urgent care chains in the affluent suburbs of major cities, the underserved rural healthcare market offers tremendous growth opportunity for the forward-thinking urgent care operator. Urgent care began as a suburban phenomenon—and continues to be, as evidenced by the Urgent …

Much Ado About Toilet Bluing (and Other Drug Testing Requirements)

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine and is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care. Urgent message: While any urgent care’s preferred “toilet bluing” method for urine specimen drug screen collects would seem a mundane matter, a careless or haphazard approach can result in unintended and potentially serious consequences. Urgent care centers that provide occupational medicine and drug testing services are required to follow specific …