Urgent Care Consultants - Mixed Use Centers

A growing trend in urgent care start-up is the application of the “mixed-use” center. This model incorporates a hybrid of scheduled appointments for primary care patients while also offering the convenience of walk-in non-emergent urgent care services.

In reality, these types of facilities are nothing new to the urgent care landscape. In fact, many primary care practitioners have been offering this style of service for the past decade since many of them recognized there was a need to “add on” some extra appointments or slots at the end of the day for patients who called in demanding to be seen for same day complaints. With decreasing access to primary care and the success of urgent care, these same PCP’s expanded on this model to begin offering weekend hours as well. The problem with this early (and still existing) form is that there is a crucial piece missing: the true urgent care component.

While the primary care piece exists, many of these facilities are without radiology services or the means to provide extensive procedures such as laceration repair, casting and splinting or common eye injury management. Further still, many of these primary care practitioners may not have sutured a wound or splinted a fracture since their last ED rotation in med school.

So how do urgent care centers tackle these nuances differently? First, they set out to offer patients a wider spectrum of services. The typical urgent care center (UCC) has in-house computerized radiology available during all hours of service. Second, they are often staffed by practitioners with experience in more emergent complaints. While primary care practitioners are focused on the longitudinal healthcare of their on-going customer, urgent care physicians are more accustomed to the randomness of complaints and the variability in scheduling. Urgent care operators also strive to provide “one-stop shopping”, by offering in-house medication dispensing, a wide spectrum of durable medical goods and other ancillary products.

The question then becomes how these two estranged healthcare cousins come together in one setting in order to make available services to the greater patient population? The answer is not surprising: Planning.

With careful planning these “mixed-use” centers can be started and operated with great success. Like starting any urgent care, attention is in the details, especially prior to opening. For example:

• Site Selection – This is just as critical for a mixed use center as a normal urgent care, perhaps even more so since population, competition factors and payer mix will weigh in on the primary care portion.
• Design and Floor Planning - Separate entrances and receptions or shared space? These decisions must be made early on to help not only with cost containment during build-out but during operations.
  
• Corporate Set-up – One tax ID or multiple? Choose wisely as this will affect your contracting and credentialing and, ultimately, your reimbursement.
  
• EMR & Billing Services – Will one vendor be able to manage both practices/all services?

As the demand for convenient access to healthcare becomes greater and the lack of primary care physicians especially in more rural areas increases, it seems likely that the success not only of urgent care, but also of “mixed-use” models will grow. The key is in doing it correctly and successfully. If you’re interested in starting an urgent care facility or would like to know more about “mixed-use” models, please contact NMN Consultants for more information.