Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Language Interpretation Services in the Urgent Care Center

Urgent message: Cultivating trust requires good communication and if a language barrier stands between patient and provider, not only are clinical outcomes jeopardized, but the urgent care operation can be subject to legal liability. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc Practice Velocity The demographics of the United States are rapidly changing. Today a language other than English is spoken in 55 million households, 67% of which speak Spanish, and an estimated 19% of Americans have Limited …

Offering Patient WiFi in the Urgent Care Center

Urgent message: The costs of and barriers to adding WiFi to an urgent care center are low and the benefits include a better patient experience and improved perception of wait times. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc, Experity WiFi is now ubiquitous. Step into most any coffee house, theme restaurant, library, shopping mall or other service establishment and you’ll find that Internet access is readily available and usually free of charge. Many hospitals have also introduced …

Understanding the Landscape of Occupational Medicine

Urgent message: Expanding into occupational medicine requires a long-term commitment and willingness to respond to employer and employee needs. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc, Experity Urgent care providers have conventionally defined their offering as “treatment of acutely rising episodic medical conditions.” However, widespread acceptance of the urgent care business model-retail-facing locations, extended hours, and walk-in service—has led many urgent care centers to expand into longitudinal primary care as well as occupational medicine. Specifically, when people …

Making the Most of Locum Tenens in Your Urgent Care

Urgent message: Despite the best staff planning, urgent care centers sometimes need to turn to locum tenens firms to fill the “bench.” Understanding the challenges these firms face is one key to success. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc, Experity Regardless of how aesthetically pleasing an urgent care facility, how convenient its hours, how creative its marketing, or how sophisticated its technology, the ultimate “product” is its clinicians and the solutions they provide for patients’ immediate …

Wear Your Brand: Increasing Awareness of Your Urgent Care Center

Urgent message: An urgent care entrepreneur is the “product” and must become skilled at promoting him/herself. When you “wear your brand,” you call attention to what you have to offer, generating awareness of an interest in your urgent care center. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc, ExperityOn a recent visit to a popular bakery-café, I noticed a young woman on the sofa working on her laptop. For passersby, there was no question about which candidate would …

Five Federal Employment Regulations Urgent Care Operators Need to Know (Part 2)

Urgent message: The second article in a two-part series looks at USERRA, FMLA, and NLRA—three federal labor laws that urgent care operators are likely to encounter. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc Practice Velocity Case Record Urgent care centers are subject to a multitude of federal employment regulations and failure to comply with any of them could result in civil litigation or criminal penalties. Laws prohibiting discrimination, regulating wages and hours, permitting leave for military service …

Five Federal Employment Regulations Urgent Care Operators Need to Know (Part 1)

Urgent message: As employers and managers of people, urgent care operators are likely to encounter situations that invoke federal labor laws. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc, Experity Urgent care centers are subject to a multitude of federal employment regulations and failure to comply with any of them could result in civil litigation or criminal penalties. Laws prohibiting discrimination, regulating wages and hours, permitting leave for military service and family or personal health issues, and affecting …

Workplace Gossip in Urgent Care: The Impact of Toxic Talk

Urgent message: Malicious gossip in an urgent care center can undermine trust, service, and teamwork. Knowing how to spot toxic talk is the first step to rooting it out before it takes hold. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc, Experity What’s the harm in a little workplace gossip? Well, consider what happens when a billing manager opines that an operations manager “slept” her way into a job. Or, when a new executive tells a staff member …

Workplace Bullying and its Costs to the Urgent Care Operation

Urgent message: More than one third of U.S. employees say they have been bullied in the workplace. Does your practice have a policy in place to thwart this insidious problem? If not, it should. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MACC What is the Difference Between Diversity and Tolerance? According to one definition, diversity is anything that makes you different while tolerance is not persecuting people who are different. Many urgent care operations strive for a unified …

Motivate Your Front-Line Staff With Enlightened Leadership

Urgent message: Registration specialists, medical assistants, and techs may be your lowest-paid employees, but the success of your urgent care is in their hands—and their success is in yours. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc, Experity Urgent care is a service business whose long-term viability depends on patient loyalty and word of mouth. That’s why urgent care entrepreneurs spend tens of thousands of dollars in selecting the right locations, equipping them with the latest technology, and …