Solutions for Healthcare Staff Burnout in Urgent Care

last updated 1/15/25

Burnout among staff and providers in urgent care is a significant issue today. The fast-paced environment, high patient turnover, and the need for quick decision-making contribute to high stress levels. Urgent care providers are particularly vulnerable due to the demanding nature of their work, which often involves long hours and high patient volumes

Burnout includes feelings of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment. This not only hinders the quality of life for your staff, but also the quality of care your business provides. Here are tips on how you can support your teams to avoid burnout.

Make it Easier to Accommodate Higher Patient Volume

Burnout can happen fast for an overwhelmed staff. But in-clinic efficiencies and load-sharing can ease a lot of the burden that comes with heavy patient traffic. Most of these tips come straight from the experts who presented at our How to Modernize Your Clinic for a New Era in Urgent Care webinar.

Leverage Automation for Efficiencies

Technology is meant to make life easier, so lean on it when you can. Patient engagement (PE) technology gives staff visibility into patient volume, reduces tedious clerical tasks, and improves accuracy in data entry. It also improves the patient experience. Here are a few relevant highlights:

• Online scheduling — Not only does this manage wait expectations for patients and even help them choose a clinic that can see them sooner, it gives staff an accurate sense of volume so they can plan accordingly
• Online registration — Let patients fill out their registration information and upload necessary documents before they walk int the door to drastically reduce check-in time at the clinic, and also improve accuracy
• Smart queuing — Similar to making a reservation, smart queues provide a virtual “line” that patients can get in. This creates visibility for staff as with online scheduling, but also helps patients plan better, resulting in greater forgiveness and preparedness

Your EMR/PM solution should provide efficiencies to help you chart faster, code correctly, reduce friction, streamline administrative tasks, and minimize error. Ultimately, it should serve your entire staff, allowing them to:

• Instantly verify insurance eligibility — Patients and staff know if the patient is covered, so a payment plan can be established if needed
• Simplify payment processing — Saving a credit card on file during patient registration makes payment processing easier for you and your patients
• Reduce extra work and rework — Coding recommendations and data entry accuracies help reduce denied or rejected claims that require rework, and sending automated balance-due text reminders reduces tedious work for staff and improves collection rates

One of the biggest barriers to efficiency and contributors to burnout is time spent charting. Hear how faster charting eased a burden on overworked providers and improved throughput:

Learn What Else Experity’s EMR/PM Does

Team Structure

There are non-technological solutions you can try, too. You can make minor changes to your staff model that create minimal HR overhead and big results.

• Remote front desk staff — Urgent cares with numerous clinics can greatly benefit from a remote front desk team that can: confirm next day appointments, check people in, and help with pre-registration. Having this done offsite frees up space in your clinic, optimizes Medical Assistant workflows, and load-balances tasks across all centers
• Use the right staffing ratio —  We usually share this in reference to staffing for slow times, but this formula can help ensure you’re appropriately staffed for all volume:

1 Provider = 4 patients per hour (1 every 15 minutes)
1 Front Desk = 4 patients per hour (1 every 15 minutes)
1 MA/RT = 2 patients per hour (1 every 30 minutes)

Get more guidance on how to optimize your staff by reading Urgent Care Staffing: Models, Tips, and Strategies for Optimal Returns >>

Make Your Staff Partners in the Solutions

If you’re leading the staff at your urgent care(s), you don’t have to carry the burden of problem-solving alone. Your staff may have ideas you wouldn’t have otherwise considered. More importantly, if you let your staff take ownership of the challenges, they will be more engaged in the solutions.

Share the Data

Dr. Patel explained that he makes his staff partners in problem-solving by sharing data in daily huddles.

“We’ll have daily huddles where managers speak with the teammates and they’ll present a problem and say ‘Hey, help us solve this.’ And they’ll come together to solve it. So once a problem is owned by the team and they’re engaged in solving it, we present data that shows them that they’ve solved it. And the amazing thing is, they feel that solving these problems, addressing these problems, addressing these challenges, are what they’re supposed to do, and they feel better about being on our team. And ultimately, when the team is happy, the providers are happy, the patients are happy.”

Take Advantage of Slow Times

As we mentioned above, if you’re experiencing declines in patient volume, now is the time to reflect on what you learned, share your vison with your staff, and make changes that will help you handle stress when it gets busy again.

But Dr. Patel also recommends using this time to take breaks. Is your staff willing to go home early if the volume is low? Can you encourage or incentivize people to schedule their vacations during down time? If your teams can work together and agree to take the time to rest when it’s slow, they’ll be better prepared when it’s time to run again — and as Patel emphasized, run fast.

Better Equip Staff to Serve the Community

Part of what will make you successful in a fluctuating business environment is adaptability. When you can pivot quickly, it will be less stressful for your staff to adjust. In addition to having proper tools and team buy-in, it helps to know what’s going on around you.

What kind of a community are you part of? Is there a prevalent geriatric presence? Are you in a hot spot for Lyme or other diseases? Is substance abuse widespread? By knowing who is near you, you can give your providers the tools and training they need to serve the specific populations coming into the clinic. The more prepared they are, the more efficient they can be.

This may also be an opportunity to fill gaps in volume and engage the staff even further. Make them the local experts on healthcare by getting involved in government and community organizations. Furthermore, reach out to the specific populations you identified and offer education on their complex needs. The closer the connection between your staff and the community, the happier, more engaged they will be.

Fix Your Unnecessary Problems

Is your tech meeting your clinic’s demands? If the answer isn’t “yes, absolutely,” you could be tolerating problems that can easily disappear with a system that is purpose-built for urgent care. Your staff is your most precious business asset. Give them the tools they need to thrive.

See What Your Clinic is Missing