In the last issue of Urgent Care Quarterly, we explored how the operational strategies adopted by urgent care practices during the COVID pandemic had a profound effect on their success and longevity in a post-COVID healthcare reality. We shared the stories and recommendations of clinics that were able to drive their traditional urgent care business alongside COVID testing and treatment to thrive and grow. While average visits per clinic per day remain lower than pre-COVID levels, the market has stabilized with volume on par with 2023.
In the latest issue, we shift our focus to one of the biggest challenges for urgent cares today – revenue cycle management.
Urgent care has moved on from 2020’s public health emergency, but not without addressing the need to adapt to the resulting changes in patient expectations and the overall on-demand marketplace – including revenue cycle.
As summer begins, visit volume is trending down, following common visit trends over the last five years. The seven-day rolling average in mid-June 2024 was 25 visits per clinic per day, approximately 3% lower than this time last year.
Since the beginning of the year, COVID visits have decreased. During the last six months, only 52 percent of urgent care respiratory visits included flu or COVID tests. At the same time, other respiratory visits are higher than pre-pandemic levels. To be sure you are not passing up the opportunity to improve clinical care, providers should consider a flu or COVID test for patients presenting with respiratory complaints.
From a regional perspective, visits in the southern U.S. are lower on average than other parts of the country, while clinics in the West and Northeast are markedly higher. Over the last six months, clinics are seeing an average of 30 visits per clinic per day nationwide.
Net revenue per visit (NRPV) at the end of 2023 averaged $132, an increase of two percent (reflects visits with a 0 balance only.) As urgent care clinics return to traditional practices and encourage (and train) providers to avoid referring patients to the ER or specialists, and instead take advantage of tools like differential diagnosis to ensure they are including all complaints in their documentation, we will continue to see revenue per visit increase over time.
We’ve identified four areas that have a direct impact on your revenue cycle:
Revenue cycle management begins before patients enter the clinic and depends on keeping your eyes on your competition, assessing all processes for efficiency and accuracy, payer negotiations, a commitment to security and contingency planning, and an urgent care partner that is in alignment with your goals.
To access more 2024 data, get the full issue of Urgent Care Quarterly: 2024 Revenue Trends.
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