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Urgent message: As urgent care centers look to differentiate themselves in saturated and competitive markets, a concerted effort to make their centers more “kid-friendly” will hold great appeal to the “soccer mom” demographic that represents their primary marketing target. 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 care experienced rapid growth in its beginning stages partly due …

Urgent message: The family demographic is a dream for urgent care businesses, with social association and physical activity leading to frequent illness and injury, and employer-provided insurance to pay the bills. Key to reaching this demographic is establishing credible word-of-mouth with the female healthcare decision-maker in the home, which can be accelerated by “mommy blogging.” Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The …

Urgent message: As a growing number of retail businesses go cashless in an effort to cut overhead and provide faster and more seamless service, urgent care may likewise need to consider the pros and cons of an entirely cashless service model. 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. Cashless businesses seem to be the next big thing …

Urgent message: Workplace harassment has been categorized as an “epidemic” by workplace experts—with medical businesses like urgent care being no exception. To address, stamp out, and ultimately prevent workplace harassment, urgent care leaders must be vigilant in developing and enforcing the policies, procedures, and guidelines necessary to ensure that our centers are safe and welcome places to work for everyone. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is …

Urgent message: Despite conventional wisdom, extensive research has shown that giving feedback at work—ostensibly to foster learning and improved performance—often has the opposite effect. The challenge for urgent care leaders, therefore, becomes learning to instead recognize excellent outcomes, and then nurture and reinforce the behaviors that led to them. 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. When …

Urgent message: Academic research shows that the most effective way to lead is to provide personalized, actionable “on the job” direction and feedback effectually “teaching” employees as they work. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care. Operating an urgent care center can be a challenge for even the most experienced manager. Although we frequently compare urgent care to …

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 …

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 …