A recent American Hospital Association guidebook outlined important factors for hospitals to review when considering the transition to become urgent care centers.
In medically underserved rural and urban communities, urgent care centers may function as the primary care practice or "medical home" for patients.
UCCs allow a community to maintain an access point for urgent medical conditions that can be treated on an outpatient basis, without having to maintain emergency medical services or inpatient acute care services, AHA explained.
Here are six things to consider when considering the transition to become urgent care centers:
- Evaluate community needs. Look to community health assessments to determine whether your community needs align with the UCC strategy and review hospital primary care and ED volumes, including payer mix and procedure codes, for the community/service area.
- Financial viability. The Urgent Care Association of America estimates that UCCs need 25 visits per day to break even under current reimbursement methodologies. Determine whether your estimated volume would lead to reimbursement sufficient to cover UCC operations. The AHA also recommends exploring the Medicare Cost Report, population estimates and data related to geocodes.
- Staffing needs. Review state and federal staffing requirements, and conduct an analysis to determine the number of clinicians needed to ensure the UCC is appropriately staffed. Determine whether your hospital has the ability to retain those clinicians for a UCC and consider arrangements with other facilities or virtual care strategies.
- Accreditation standards. Consider accrediting the UCC with a national accrediting body. Alternatively, ensure your UCC meets nationally standardized criteria in areas such as patient care processes, physical environment and quality improvement.
- Community conversations. Engage in discussions with key community stakeholders, including patients, board members and clinicians, to explain why the hospital is considering a transition. Read the AHA's Community Conversations Toolkit here.
- Community partnership. Consider whether partnership or collaboration with other stakeholders may satisfy the community's need for urgent care services. Look to community partnerships to ensure access to healthcare services such as primary care, post-acute care, substance abuse treatment and psychiatric services.
Read the AHA guidebook in full here.