Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Follow the Chain of Command

Urgent Message: An established chain of command clearly delineates roles and accountability among staff in an urgent care center. When this chain is broken by upper management “dipping down,” it creates confusion among staff, undermines supervisors’ authority, and brings inefficiency to operations. Case: Ian is the administrative director at a local urgent care center that’s part of a multi-unit operation. His responsibilities include scheduling the clinical support staff, approving time cards and writing performance reviews, …

Corporate Perks vs Corporate Culture in Urgent Care: They’re Not the Same

Urgent message: Many employers confuse perks with culture. Perks are non-wage benefits offered to employees, while culture refers to the beliefs, behaviors, and interactions of individual employees. While perks may be part of a culture, they are not a substitute or a basis for culture. The software development industry includes some of the most forward-thinking companies in the world. Not only are they creating technologies that are changing the way we work and play, they …

One Medical: Reimaging Primary Care Around the Consumer

Urgent message: Just as urgent care has changed consumer attitudes and behaviors related to on-demand healthcare, One Medical is reinventing the primary care practice by emphasizing high-tech engagement, on-demand convenience, quality provider face time, and price transparency. If the rise of urgent care were a television drama, then primary care might be one of the villains. Unable to get an appointment in a timely manner—in some markets waiting weeks or months—and having to miss work …

Welcome Potential New Patients in Their Own Language

Hospitals are actually required to have a qualified medical interpreter on hand when treating patients who don’t understand English well enough to participate fully in discussion of their care (though, as a recent blog post on KevinMD points out, it’s a rule that is followed inconsistently, at best). Urgent care centers—especially those in an area with a high number of immigrant residents or businesses—may be well positioned to fill the gap for those patients. The …

Smoking Cessation: The Time to Address Employee Smoking is Now

Urgent Message: Tobacco-related illness costs the U.S. healthcare system billions in preventable medical expenses, yet many employees of urgent care centers continue to light up. It may be time for your urgent care center to address the issue of employee smoking by offering incentives for smoking cessation. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Practice Velocity, LLC and is Practice Management Editor of JUCM—The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. A …

Bringing Out the Vote Can Help Bring in the Patients

Many local newspapers, magazines and radio stations hand out “people’s choice awards,” in which individuals in the community nominate and vote for their favorite businesses in various categories. The Rockford (Illinois) Register-Star holds an annual Best of the Rock River Valley promotion, for example, in which readers vote for their favorite hospital, chiropractor, dentist, family practice, and emergency room, among other categories. Supporters of businesses like the Dogwood Pet Resort are encouraged to spread the word …

Workplace Cell Phone Policies Should Be Reasonable—but Firm

In today’s “connected” world, few of us can go hours without checking our email, text messages, and social media posts. The same is true for urgent care center providers and staff. However, when patients see employees chatting or texting on their cell phones, they can get the impression that the focus is on the employee’s personal concerns and not patient care. For an employer, this behavior represents lost on the clock productivity, with the opportunity …

HIPAA-Compliant Disposal of Office Equipment Containing Personal Health Information

Urgent message: Urgent care centers must dispose of fully depreciated office equipment such as computers, copiers, fax machines, and telephones containing protected health information in a manner that complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. How this column helps you: gives you guidelines for protecting your patients’ privacy. Introduction Since 2009, 42 million patients have been affected by privacy breaches entailing their protected health information (PHI).1 Many of these breaches stem from the …

The Benefits of Near-Site vs Onsite Employee Clinics

There has been a push by some large, single-campus employers in recent years to develop onsite clinics for occupational medicine and health/wellness (including urgent and primary care). The typical model has employers paying all costs associated with the clinic, as well as a set fee to the management company. In an industrial setting where an RN can provide first aid for workplace injuries and track compliance towards OSHA regulations, the model can be justified. But in office settings …

Checklists Are as Essential in the Office as in the Cockpit

As an FAA-licensed commercial multi-engine instrument pilot, I have been well versed in the importance of checklists. When lives are at stake, a pilot cannot afford to overlook details pertaining to the configuration and operation of the airplane. For example, failing to assure the landing gear is fully down or that flaps are set properly upon approach can be deadly. Checklists help assure that pilots, no matter how experienced, don’t overlook anything. Likewise, checklists can …