Adapting to a Patient-Centric Care Model with Tech-Enabled Urgent Care

The post-pandemic world has changed the way patients approach care for themselves and loved ones, reflecting the long-term impact created by Covid and creating a new healthcare landscape for providers to navigate with different (often higher) expectations. Patients continue to struggle through frustrating appointment booking processes, inefficient care, and poor billing practices. Patient centered care and engagement are the keys to success for practices both big and small as, despite ongoing challenges, patients look for new sources of care that meets their needs and expectations, driving competition among businesses. Patient centric care integrates the preferences, values, and beliefs of the patient into the process of decision-making, producing a treatment plan that is both appropriate and meaningful to them. It is more important than ever to provide an end-to-end experience for patients that delivers on not only quality, but also their growing expectations, especially knowing they want to be more involved in the decision-making process.

In the case of urgent care, quality and efficiency are top of mind for business owners and their staff — but as they provide services, it’s also important to remember that impressions and engagement create returning customers, referrals, and lasting patient engagement. To deliver the kind of experience that the modern patient is looking for, two industry best practices to follow entail establishing goals for the practice that outline what success looks like and embracing technology to create and maintain a patient-centric care model. 

Defining success through a culture of goal setting

Since urgent care visits can be stressful for patients, it’s up to clinic staff and their established processes to make the experience as pleasant as possible for them. There is no universally agreed-upon definition or measure of patient satisfaction, so clinics must determine what their patient population’s wants and needs are. Based on those unique findings, clinics can establish goals and metrics to ensure they are properly aligned with the patients they serve. By setting goals as an organization and working toward providing a seamless experience, the patient will be more likely to return for future episodic events knowing their experiences will be prioritized.

Lasting impressions

Repeat business is reliant on impressions made before, during, and even after care has been delivered. For new patients, the clinic should strive to present itself in a way that impresses prospective patients before they even walk through the door. Factors that can support this goal include online registration, mobile technology, and even having in-depth information on the clinic readily available. These supplemental resources help set a positive tone for the visit where the patient feels prepared, better enabling the provider to deliver a great experience. Repeat customers look for a few main factors in a clinic which include clear access and navigation, trustworthiness, and workability for things like fast, online check-in and online lab or test results. For existing patients, making things as easy as possible for them is key, regardless of how often they may need urgent care services. 

Staying in touch

Regardless of the episodic nature of urgent care visits, the provider-patient relationship does not have to end when the bill is paid. Clinics should strive to stay in touch with their patients for both retention and reputation purposes, both of which can affect the success of the business in the long run. A post-visit follow-up or thank you can go a long way with patients and opens the door for additional opportunities of impression and insight. Including a survey in follow-up communication gives patients a voice and can help the clinic further tailor care delivery. Asking the patient to write a Google review can have a similar effect, but it comes with risk given the public visibility. Format aside, the clinic should follow up on all feedback, especially the negative insights. 

Urgent care clinics can also continue to engage with clients by re-engaging based on specific needs. The patient-centered care model is unique to individuals, or at the very least demographics, so following up on the services that are important to them (sports physicals or STD screenings for college students, for example) can help the patient feel more understood. Patients are more likely to return knowing they have been heard and are cared about, and that their medical history has been properly recorded. 

The patient and provider interaction is typically thought to end when the patient walks out the door, but clinics and their staff can go the extra mile to check in and ensure improvement in a patient’s condition post-treatment. Follow-up care also plays a role in continued patient engagement, whether through the clinic itself or a referral partner. By displaying an investment in a patient’s journey and success, providers can form more trusting and loyal relationships with them – helping to make the decision of where to seek care in the future easier which in turn supports clinic revenue. 

Technology to benefit patients and providers

Knowing that patients are unhappy with healthcare as a whole, the urgent care industry has a leg up thanks to its ability to deliver same-day services. This is only possible, though, with quality care and tech-based convenience in the form of patient engagement solutions. Online scheduling, wait time estimates, and pre-registration are just a handful of the services patients look for to enhance their experiences. In combination with an efficient EMR, they allow providers to deliver improved care that contributes to the patient-centric model toward which clinics are working. Patients look for providers who are easy to work with, so incorporating technology that streamlines the care coordination process is ideal. 

Mitigating a burdensome financial experience

An effective revenue cycle management (RCM) process goes hand-in-hand with quality patient engagement solutions. On-point RCM is crucial for a clinic’s profitability, delivering faster billing and payment cycles and improved accuracy in billing throughout integrated systems. On the business side, it streamlines administrative processes by automating both appointment reminders and the check-in experience, which reduces no-show rates. In addition, RCM can efficiently handle patient information and insurance verification to take the strain off clinic staff.

For patients, RCM solutions deliver more transparent and immediate billing processes with easy access to payment options. Being more engaged in their healthcare by taking on the role of a consumer also helps patients reduce overall treatment expenses. As patients take on the roles of consumers, their expectations for healthcare processes shift to mirror retail experiences that provide fast, easy, convenient service. To support this shift, Real Time Insurance Verification/Eligibility (RTV/RTE) can verify insurance coverage and help determine patient responsibility upfront. Additionally, a credit card preauthorization process can ensure prompt payment and reduce billing complexities, but it also makes billing easier for the patient if they allow the provider to bill their balance to the card. Finally, RCM can provide text balance reminders which have been shown to improve patient collections as well as the patient experience.

Patients continue to seek involvement in their care journeys from beginning to end, so utilizing tools and systems that deliver transparency, communication, and tailored options for individuals will help to alleviate some of the primary stressors that come with care coordination. 

Continued innovation and adaptation

As patient expectations evolve, the healthcare industry must evolve with them. This means the tools, processes, and technology involved in care delivery must adapt, too. With the right technology, urgent care clinics can enhance communication with patients and expand the channels in which they interact, overall improving access to care. Technology plays a critical role in a patient-centric care model, benefiting both patients and providers. By maintaining a culture of innovation and adaptation, clinics will find more success as they work to instill a patient-centric model that still delivers the quality and efficiency for which urgent care is known. 

Photo: boonchai wedmakawand, Getty Images

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