Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Urgent Care Patients Want Action, Not Apologies

Urgent message: While conventional customer service training emphasizes the need to listen to patient concerns, the best response typically isn’t an apology, but rather corrective action to either solve or prevent the underlying shortcoming. 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. Customer service is at the heart of any business. Whether it’s a retail outlet or an …

Practical Considerations for Buying/Selling Your Urgent Care Practice

Urgent message: As urgent care remains a hotbed of merger, acquisition, and transactional activity, owners and operators may see a prime opportunity to sell their practices at maximum market value. The complexities of selling (or buying) an urgent care practice can make it a daunting undertaking, however, and thus requires careful planning, expert counsel, and due diligence to pull off successfully. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and …

Do Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants Qualify for Overtime in the Urgent Care Setting?

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: Physician assistants and nurse practitioners perform many of the same tasks as physicians in urgent care settings, but ambiguity as to the nature of their practice means additional consideration must be given in how their pay is structured. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act1 (FLSA) states that all …

DOs Ascending—How the Growth of Osteopathy Might Save Urgent Care from the Looming Physician Shortage

Urgent message: As the ever-growing physician shortage continues to strain the long-term viability of the nation’s healthcare system, urgent care would be well-served to cultivate relationships with osteopathic medicine schools toward tapping a potentially fertile yet underutilized clinical resource. 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. The United States healthcare system continues to face a serious and …

Biggest Management Decision-Making Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Urgent message: The entrepreneurial nature of urgent care “business” means that care providers are frequently thrust into management decision-making, for which they are unprepared—putting them at risk for common but avoidable mistakes. 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. Owners and operators in the healthcare industry have a lot on their plate. There’s no getting …

How to Make Yourself Indispensable

Urgent message: In today’s rapidly changing and hypercompetitive business environment, you don’t have to “reinvent yourself” to become “indispensable.” Rather, you should focus on adding complementary skills to your current strengths. 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. The unfortunate reality of today’s managerial world is that turnover happens all the time. Moreover, it happens …

What Exactly Are Whistleblower Lawsuits—and How Can You Protect Your Urgent Care Operation?

Urgent message: The increasingly visibility of “whistleblower cases,” in which employees share in any fines from reporting their employer’s malfeasance to federal and state authorities, calls for urgent care center owners to understand the False Claims Act and the whistleblower lawsuit process. 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. A “whistleblower” is an employee who makes complaints …

Perfecting the Consumer Financial Experience in Your Urgent Care Center

Urgent message: Changes to insurance plan design are resulting in increased financial exposure for patients, with urgent care providers scrambling to adapt to the associated rise in patient consumerism. It therefore behooves the urgent care provider to evolve their financial systems and policies such that they align with emerging point-of-sale best practices in order to meet patient expectations, enhance the revenue cycle, and cultivate patient loyalty. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer …

How to Manage a Toxic Employee

Urgent message: An urgent care center cannot afford to retain employees who undermine work, demoralize others, run off patients, or who seek vengeance. But dealing with toxic employees is more complicated than simply firing them; urgent care operators must have a strategy. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care, LLC and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. The “toxic employee” is one of …

Building Engaged, Productive Teams by Saying Thank You

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care, LLC and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. Urgent message: In an era of widespread worker disengagement, one simple way to improve morale in your urgent care operation is to embrace a “culture of gratitude” which starts with saying the simple phrase, thank you. America has a workplace engagement problem, as evidenced by a consensus …