A blueprint for planning, building, and operating a successful urgent care center or freestanding ED.
One in five Americans lacks adequate access to primary care physicians and even those patients with insurance and a primary care doctor can struggle to get same-day appointments, leaving many seeking treatment in overcrowded, high-cost emergency departments. Urgent care centers offer patients a lower-cost, convenient alternative to hospitals. For providers, these centers represent new business opportunities.
This roadmap to urgent care centers will help you and your organization:
- Create a financial plan
- Determine whether to lease or build
- Develop an efficient staffing model
- Effectively market the urgent care center
- Learn strategies to grow and expand the urgent care center's services
Take a look at the Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Healthcare Market for Urgent Care Centers and Freestanding EDs
Changing Insurance Landscape
Cost of Care
Access to Care
Defining Urgent Care Facilities
ED and Urgent Care Interface
Chapter 2: Affiliation and Ownership
Business Case
Affiliation Urgent Care Models
Independent Urgent Care Models
Chapter 3: Creating a Financial Plan
Market Considerations
Financing 101
Chapter 4: Facility Considerations
Location Is Crucial
Lease vs. Ownership
Defining Internal Spaces
Equipment and Supply Needs
Chapter 5: Billing, Coding, Collections
Insurance Participation Strategies
Determining Which Payers to Work With
Contract Negotiations
Billing for Services
Chapter 6: Human Resources and Staffing
Hiring the Right People
Staffing Requirements
Staffing Hours
Staffing Based on Clinic Model
Chapter 7: Ancillary Testing: Laboratory and Radiology Services
Determining What Laboratory Services to Provide
Determining What Radiology Services to Provide
Chapter 8: Clinical Patient Care
Types of Clinical Conditions Treated
Medical Staff Issues
Medical Emergencies
A Few Clinical Pearls of Wisdom
Chapter 9: Patient Satisfaction: Creating and Delivering the Right Expectations
The Cost of Dissatisfied Patients
Improving Patient Satisfaction
Specific Techniques to Satisfy Your Patients
Quality Issues
Chapter 10: Marketing Strategies
Tailoring the Marketing Message
Building the Market Plan
Marketing Basics
Chapter 11: Safety and Risk Management
A Culture of Safety and Preventing Harm
A Systematic Approach
Reducing Errors and Preventing Harm
Military Aviation and Urgent Care Medicine
Taking a Walk
Stay Focused on Ongoing Operations
Chapter 12: Strategies to Expand Urgent Care Business
Occupational Medicine
Immunization Clinic
Travel Medicine
Physical Examinations
Hospital Affiliated Clinics
Chapter 13: The Freestanding Emergency Department
Principles of the Freestanding ED
Access to care
Chapter 14: Retail Clinics
Basics of Retail Clinics
Chapter 15: Urgent Care Centers as Part of Accountable Care Organization
ACO Concept
ACO Structure
Documentation and Electronic Health Records
Urgent Care Centers and ACOs
Chapter 16: The Ideal Urgent Care Clinic
Planning the 'I Have a Dream' Clinic
