Practice Management
Urgent message: Everyone will experience some kind of loss in their lifetime; all too often, however, the workplace is ill-equipped to support grieving teammates. While anyone can provide kind words to a grief-stricken relative, friend, or coworker, managers in the urgent care setting have a unique role to fill—as human beings and as leaders. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal …
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Urgent message: As the debate rages as to whether today’s healthcare recipient should be regarded as a patient or a consumer, urgent care should consider which of the two mindsets will have the greatest positive impact on its care delivery 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. The advent of high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) has shifted …
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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 …
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Urgent message: Patients presenting to the urgent care center with split earlobe injuries can have their defect repaired with good cosmetic results. This minor office-based procedure can be easily performed in this venue by the urgent care provider. Oscar D. Almeida, Jr., MD, FACOG, FACS Dating back to the 2nd Century in the Roman Empire, earrings have remained a staple of human fashion. Today, the popular use of earrings has become gender neutral. The expanded …
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Lou Ellen Horwitz, MA Finally, after months of looking for the right health system partner, you have a deal to purchase your clinics. Congratulations! There are many positives in your decision to partner to achieve your vision. And get ready. The next year or so, for yourself and your leadership team, will be extremely exciting, sometimes frustrating, and often a bit terrifying. To help you prepare, we offer some tips for surviving before, during, and …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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