Pandemic Impact on Urgent Care and 4 Strategies to Protect Revenue

In the past 2 years, the urgent care industry has exemplified adaptability and resilience as it has evolved to meet a dramatic need in the health care landscape across the country.

Urgent care providers were challenged early on by the lack of available personal protective equipment, everchanging COVID-19 information and regulations, and visit volume peaks and valleys, making it difficult to navigate a new and rapidly changing financial landscape and to stay profitable.

Research reports aggregated by Experity analyzed data from urgent care providers to gauge how severely and in what ways the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the financials of the US urgent care industry during 2020 and 2021. The findings are based on analysis of key performance metrics of nearly 5000 urgent care clinics, about half of the US market. 

Key findings reveal how drastically urgent care traffic was impacted due to pandemic-driven demands, which in turn, impacted clinic revenues. Findings include the following:

• In 2020, COVID-19-related visits made up 55% of all urgent care visits.
• The highest average visit volume in a single day in 2020 was 67 in December 2020.
• Notably, December was also the highest month for COVID-19-related visits, during which 70% of all visits were COVID-19-related.
• Data showed that in 2021, urgent cares saw an average of 58 patients per day.
• The 14% highest performing clinics saw more than 90 patients per day during the 7-day period ending August 24, 2021.
• Two peak months, December 2020 and August 2021, had similar patient volumes; however, August 2021 saw 50% more confirmed COVID-19 cases than in December 2020.

Overall, COVID-19-related visits have outnumbered all other visit types at urgent cares during 2020 and 2021, further advancing the shift in patient preferences to choose local clinics as their primary access point for health care.

Despite these COVID-19 related visits being lower acuity, many providers were able to offset lower reimbursement revenue thanks to the record high number of visits from net-new patients. In August 2020, new patient volumes crested at 56% of all visits, and in 2021, new patient volumes followed a similar trajectory, though they were on the decline as of October.

COVID-19 disrupted this critical, fast growing segment of health care, but the changes driven by the pandemic weren’t all negative. Rather, urgent care’s place in the broader health care continuum solidified into a critical gateway of access and a pillar in mass care delivery, and many clinics are now uniquely positioned to capitalize on this reinvented status.

The pandemic suddenly changed much of the urgent care business mode, throwing a wrench in clinics’ revenue cycles, but the industry continues to adapt and open doors to grow in meaningful ways. Following a turbulent two years of changes and lessons learned, urgent care leaders are implementing a few key business strategies to maintain and grow revenue streams now and protect against future market volatility.

#1 Adopting Systems That are Tailored for the Urgent Care Environment

With some clinics seeing over 100 patients per day at pandemic-fueled peaks, urgent care clinics continue to lean into the strengths of their technology and business adaptability.

Leaders in the space are optimizing their clinics’ operational efficiencies, revenue cycle, and care delivery compacities by utilizing patient registration and EMR solutions specially designed for the urgent care business model and the evolving landscape in which it operates. This custom-built technology considers urgent care-specific workflows that drastically reduce administrative burden, such as unnecessary clicks and inefficient charting, which slow operational efficiency and hinder daily patient throughput.

As a result, urgent care staff can operate seamlessly with increased efficiency throughout the entire visit process.

#2 Investing in New and Returning Visitors by Enhancing the Patient Experience

Over the last 18 months, half of urgent care visits were from first-time visitors, giving these clinics an opportunity to build strong relationships with patients that keep them coming back for future care needs.

First impressions matter, so leveraging best practices for higher patient retention throughout these visits is critical. These practices include personable, convenient visits with providers, capturing good contact information to prompt future visits, and providing details about other services that are offered at the clinics.

Later, clinic staff can continue to engage with these patients through email or text campaigns, remind them of annual physicals, communicate seasonal services like flu shots, and showcase how convenient the care process is for them.

Providing a positive patient experience and staying top of mind as a convenient, quality care option for new patients will be crucial to attracting more returning visitors and increasing revenue moving forward.

#3 Implementing Improved Revenue Capture Practices and Technologies

Clinics are investing in ways to optimize revenue, such as implementing patient responsibility capture technologies and real-time eligibility (RTE) solutions.

By collecting payment information at the time of registration, confirming patient responsibility at the time of visit, and adding in technology like patient responsibility text reminders, clinics can minimize possible disruption in revenue cycle and safeguard cash flow.

Taking these actions reduces the likelihood of claims going to collections and eases the administrative staff burden associated with revenue capture. Moreover, these tools support a positive patient experience.

#4 Diversifying Revenue Streams With New Offerings

By implementing additional service offerings, urgent cares can grow their revenue through diversification.

The protection gained from expanded service lines extends beyond the peaks and valleys of pandemic visit volumes and offers the ability to serve the community in new and important ways, further solidifying the importance of urgent care. Expansion into primary care and occupational medicine services are the most prevalent additions and require a low barrier to entry. With proper education and reimbursement training, urgent care clinics can build out these offerings with relative ease.   

The pandemic introduced changes to the health care industry and consumer behaviors that will forever alter the way care is delivered and received. During the pandemic, clinics have become stronger and more agile, reassessing their operations to find ways to thrive and provide the care millions of Americans need—especially in trying times. COVID-19 has been a challenge, but it also continues to pose a big opportunity for growth in the on-demand care landscape.

Moving forward, clinics can make strategic moves, from improving business operations to expanding their offerings, to maintain and grow steady revenue streams while simultaneously providing the desired, and expected, convenient health care experience for the masses.