Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1076559
54 Executive Briefing Because urgent care is mostly a commodity service, individuals are typically ruthless about their choices of urgent care sites. In markets where patients once tolerated 60-minute wait times at 5 pm, they no longer tolerate these long wait times when a high- quality alternative with no wait time becomes available. Again and again, we see examples of legacy urgent care sites with Google and Yelp ratings in the mid-threes operating under capacity in a market where a modern model subsequently enters and thrives. For example, UnityPoint Health opened a modern model in a north central Iowa market thought to be saturated with legacy urgent care models. Within three months, the pilot site was so well received it achieved operational capacity while the legacy clinics lost volumes. With the immediacy of social media, individuals will quickly distinguish between inefficient, poor-service urgent care sites and those that operate a modern model. For patients, the effort to switch and use a different urgent care site is low. As such, modern urgent care sites are quickly rewarded with volume and loyalty, while legacy models are punished. Characteristic Modern Urgent Care Platform Examples Predictable • Consistent hours, typically 8am – 8pm 365 days a year (no early closures) • Consistent door-to-door times (under 30 minutes) • Consistent billing (global bill with only selected add-ons) • Consistent experience (standardized protocols, staff training and language) • Consistent across all clinics in the health system's platform Convenient • Retail-level access • Open day, night, weekend, holiday • Initial medications available on site Service • Welcoming, open atmosphere • Simple amenities • Limited number of handoffs • Lounge rather than waiting room Efficient • No wait • No clinically or financially unnecessary questions in registration • No unnecessary handoffs between staff and providers • Dual processing (e.g., checking insurance and collecting payment during registration, standing order protocols) • Narrowed set of services allowing rapid diagnosis and treatment • Standardized diagnosis and treatment Friendly • Staff walking out to greet you rather than sitting behind a window • Thank you cards for all first time users • Follow-up calls for all patients • Offering amenities to make the patient comfortable Cost Effective • Total visit costs under $100 allowing prices to be typically $200 (private) and $125 (cash pay) • 100% nurse practitioner providers • MA/Rad Tech cross trained as front staff • No RN, no MD/DO Accessible Format • Small (typically 3,200 sf) • Highly visible with immediately adjacent parking • Open, airy entry • High-traffic, retail areas not buried in a medical office building Connected • Referral solutions offered at the visit • Seamlessly tied to the health system for follow-up and/or additional treatment • Part of an integrated first touch point solution Stand-Alone Profitable • 10-yr NPV without terminal value of $500 - $750K • 30% EBITDA • 15,000 visits annually • Cash break-even at 9,000 visits annually Recommended • Net Promoter Scores in the top 2-3% for the industry segment • Google / Yelp reviews of 4.8 or better on 5.0 scale • Positive buzz in the community • Promoted by the health system as an example of what can be different about healthcare • Most common online review descriptors of great or synonyms New Patients • 40% of patients without a current primary care relationship • 50% of the health system's market share in patients with competitor primary care relationships