How You Can Start An Urgent Care Franchise

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided investors with a unique opportunity to venture into the medical sector. The pandemic has resulted in more medical emergencies than ever seen before. As a result, urgent care franchise facilities are in higher demand than ever. This increased demand has led to combined revenue of about $24.8 billion, and the number is predicted to grow at a rate of 8% yearly. 

Urgent care centers reduce the amount of waiting time, offer weekend and evening hours, and are way more economical than hospitals. 

All these benefits are a clear indication that the demand for urgent care facilities will surely skyrocket in the years to come. 

So if you are an investor thinking of starting an urgent care franchise, now is the time. Thankfully, you don’t need a medical background to start one. In this article, we will summarize some steps you can take to launch your urgent care franchise. 

Have a Business Plan

The first step to starting any business is to have a solid plan. A proper business plan must include the following:

• A detailed description of the type of services you intend to offer at the urgent care facility. Some of these include immunization and vaccination, X-rays, physical examinations, drug tests, prop screenings, stitches, pregnancy testing, etc.)
• Do a demographic survey. This entails having full detail of the number of people in the area you plan on setting up and their age group. This information will help you in making a decision about whether a location will be profitable and which type of services will be needed the most. For instance, if there are more senior citizens in the area, you will need more geriatrics specialists than a pediatrician. 
• Financial plans
• A marketing plan

• Staffing and Management structure. This will cover a list of roles you will have to fill.  
• Licensure and Credentials. Even though you don’t need a medical background to start an urgent care franchise, you need to have a proper license before you begin your operation. Licensure could take several months since it involves several verification processes.
• Along with proper licensing, you also need to consider insurance contract agreements. Since most US citizens pay for their health care using insurance plans, you need to have a contract agreement with the insurance companies so your patients can use their insurance coverage to pay for the services offered to them. In most cases, your franchisor should be the one to help you with this. Most franchisors usually have a particular insurance company they deal with, so this should be a straightforward and easy step. In case your franchisor isn’t helping with this, you will need to call the major insurance companies in your area for requirements to become credentialed. 

Marketing for Your Business

Since you are a franchise, you will already have a name, logo, and some sort of reputation in place. You will also have access to numerous well-tested marketing materials, which could help you reach out to locals in your new environment. 

In most cases, when it comes to urgent care franchises, what most people care about is if you provide quality service. Having a reputation for offering quality healthcare services is sometimes enough to promote your business. 

You also need to make sure you provide people with enough information about your services without them having to go through any stress. People want to know when you open and close if you accept insurance, and if you do, what type. They also want to know the various services you offer.

The best way to make all this information available to people is to have it posted on your official website. 

Importantly, your website needs to be concise, clear, and user-friendly. 

You can also take advantage of the numerous social media platforms available to draw in patients and inform people about your service. 

Staff and Management

Dedicated staff and management are the key elements of a successful urgent care franchise. Since your workforce qualifications will also play a huge role in your accreditation and license, you need to take the time to hire the right people with the right credentials. 

The need to hire the most qualified candidates should not only be focused on nurses and physicians. You need to make sure all members of your staff are up to standard.  

In conclusion, having the right team can help ensure your business becomes a success. So take your hiring process seriously.