The demand for an alternative primary care delivery model – different from expensive emergency rooms, expansive hospital campuses, and crowded community clinics – is an opportunity for healthcare systems to focus on delivering care with upscale hospitality. An urgent care clinic model was needed that concentrated on patient experience in a modern world competing with consumerism and instant gratification.
Concierge express care model
Together with UnityPoint Clinics, INVISION created the concierge express care model. This was a system-wide change that shook up the typical workflow and shifted the delivery strategy. Sites were chosen based on connection to retail centers and wholesale companies, close to where young busy families live, work, and play.
One-stop-shop patient experience
Quality and speed became the forefront of the urgent care prototype by integrating technology and customer service. Posted wait times and online check-in allows for a smaller, cozy waiting space with amenities such as free refreshments and warm blankets. The nurse who greets patients at the front desk is with them throughout their entire stay permitting fewer handouts and faster visits. Exam suites surround a collaborative team work area for abundant sightlines for staff. A lab, radiology room, treatment room, and pre-packaged medications allow for “one-stop-shop” that is standard, simple and convenient.
Far from institutional
Contemporary colors and finishes with a variety of seating options create a café ambience that breaks the institutional stereotype when one walks inside for the first time. Acoustic ceiling clouds, accent lighting, and graphics with local images provide a sophisticated presence unique to each location. There are no provider offices with the clinic with the intention that the care team is always moving and with patients. Check-out and payment occur within the exam suites for additional privacy and resolution. Patients are walked to the front door or helped to their car, and follow-up calls are made to build relationships and to ensure positive outcomes.
Transforming how care is offered
This clinical experience is different than what has been done before. It was developed with the patient in mind and by adapting to the ever-evolving demands of a fast-paced culture. Our goal was to create a new brand image with this prototype, now in eight locations and counting. This urgent care model resulted from transforming the narrative of how care is offered, with high-quality design that people have come to expect.