4 Strategies for Urgent Care to Thrive During the Pandemic and Beyond

A year of constantly shifting gears to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and meet patient needs further solidified the essential role urgent cares play during large-scale public health crises. Subsequently, the pandemic is continuing to change the way patients use and view urgent care. New patient volumes increased by 23% over the same year, saving urgent care from plummeting reimbursement rates, which had declined due to the lower acuity, Covid-related care being provided. As urgent cares continue to evolve and elevate their business model and services to effectively deliver high-volume healthcare to the masses, there are a handful of key strategies leading clinics should implement, and many are already implementing, as they step into the new, pandemic-driven era of urgent care. On average, a third of urgent care patients don’t have a primary care provider, making their local facility an ideal place for them to seek those services. In an on-demand world, it’s strategic for urgent care to transform into hybrid clinics that offer the primary care services so many patients need, but through the modern, convenient experience they want. Now, as Covid cases are back on the rise due to emerging variants, coupled with the return of more traditional urgent care visits, urgent care are prioritizing streamlining their clinic workflows to provide overall better care and patient experiences while meeting continuous regulatory changes.