Urgent Care expert Jerry Creech, SVP, Healthcare Solutions, at EqualizeRCM shares his experience and expertise in urgent care operations. Jerry thinks in the next two years, “Hospitals may decide to buy urgent care centers. I see more telemedicine utilization, but the payers need to adopt sustainable reimbursement models. Urgent Care visit volume could be subject to at-home testing, which may have an impact”. This interview was facilitated by Chris Ekrem, FACHE, VP of Hospitals at EqualizeRCM.
Chris Ekrem (CE): How did you get started in the urgent care industry?
Jerry Creech (JC): I met two providers in 2009 with six urgent care clinics. I was hired to sell the organization to a private equity (PE) group. One year later we sold the company with nine locations. I stayed with the organization for eight more years and we grew to 158 locations.
(CE): Why is there so much interest in the urgent care space today?
(JC): It really boils down to five main reasons.
- According to a 2021 PubMed Central study, the cost of an urgent care visit is $156, while the same treatment is $570 at an ER.
- The average urgent care wait time is much less than in the ER.
- The cost to staff and build an urgent care center is a fraction of the cost to build a freestanding ER.
- Rural communities use urgent care to access their primary care.
- A Certificate of Need is not needed.
(CE): From your perspective, what is the biggest challenge to the urgent care space moving forward?
(JC): 2020 data published by the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that the U.S. could see a shortage of 54,100 to 139,000 physicians by 2033. Finding creative ways to staff urgent care centers will be critical if you want to thrive in the future.
(CE): What are the biggest opportunities to expand urgent care services today?
(JC): Outside of expanding primary care, many urgent care centers are getting into orthopedics, cardiology, and diabetic/hypertension care. Some centers are researching population health to help drive down total cost of care for patients. This is also relevant in rural communities under the RHC designation.
(CE): Do you worry about the urgent care market becoming oversaturated?
(JC): Some major cities throughout the country have too many urgent care centers; however, there are plenty of places to grow throughout the U.S. In fact, many urgent care centers have physicians who are retiring and they will not be able to backfill unless we use Advanced Practice Providers (APPs).
(CE): What do the next two years look like for the urgent care industry?
(JC): Hospitals may decide to buy urgent care centers. I see more telemedicine utilization, but the payers need to adopt sustainable reimbursement models. Urgent care visit volume could be subject to at-home testing, which may have an impact.
(CE): If you could wave a magic wand and fix one thing in the urgent care space, what would it be?
(JC): I would eliminate the need for paper registration and claim adjudication. If I could register digitally on my phone, that would eliminate so much wasted time for patients. This also applies to digital transparency of a claim status with my insurance company.
You may contact Jerry Creech at Jerry.Creech@EqualizeRCM.com, and to learn more go to https://equalizercm.com/health-systems/urgent-care/