Vacancy and salary for Urgent Care Physicians?

[drox]

How does the salary and job availabilty look for Urgent Care docs? I've heard that an FP or IM doc could do this. Also what are the pros and cons for it?

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[EctopicFetus]

Im might be tough cause you see a ton of kids with coughs etc, but FP does seem to do a lot of Urgent care. The job market is good IMO but I have no data other than anectdotal info.

 

[deleted6669]

the urgent care docs I know are either fp or med/peds. they make between 50-70 dollars/hr with a full benefits package and no overhead.
straight IM should not do this because they have no peds, ortho, or ob experience in their training and this is a big part of urgent care.

 

[drox]

the urgent care docs I know are either fp or med/peds. they make between 50-70 dollars/hr with a full benefits package and no overhead.
straight IM should not do this because they have no peds, ortho, or ob experience in their training and this is a big part of urgent care.

Thats neat. They do work at 4-5 days a week with 8-10hrs per day?
I did notice that many IM docs didnt like FP docs because they thought their education wasnt intense enough as IM.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Thats neat. They do work at 4-5 days a week with 8-10hrs per day?
I did notice that many IM docs didnt like FP docs because they thought their education wasnt intense enough as IM.

Its shift work, with schedules varying with the patient load and physician need. Its a pretty low paying job, one I would hardly call "neat", but it does fill a niche, especially for non Board Eligible/Certified physicians.

 

[deleted87716]

I did notice that many IM docs didnt like FP docs because they thought their education wasnt intense enough as IM.

Ragging on other fields is a clear sign of insecurity. Beware.

the urgent care docs I know are either fp or med/peds.

There are quite a few EM-trained physicians doing it, too. Kimberli's right, though...lack of board certification isn't necessarily a barrier to practicing urgent care.

 

[Coastie]

Its shift work, with schedules varying with the patient load and physician need. Its a pretty low paying job, one I would hardly call "neat", but it does fill a niche, especially for non Board Eligible/Certified physicians.

I would tend to disagree kim. You can make alot of money doing it if you know what you're doing, from the business side. $100 cash per patient, not to mention your own xrays, labs, and you see 80 a day.

More than an onc surgeon will ever make.

 

[deleted87716]

I would tend to disagree kim. You can make alot of money doing it if you know what you're doing

You can make a lot of money doing a lot of things, if you know what you're doing.

"$100 cash per patient?" Eighty patients per day? Where are you getting that stuff? Plain films reimburse poorly, by the way...they're not going to be a huge money-maker for anyone.

 

[Winged Scapula]

I would tend to disagree kim. You can make alot of money doing it if you know what you're doing, from the business side. $100 cash per patient, not to mention your own xrays, labs, and you see 80 a day.

More than an onc surgeon will ever make.

While I doubt those numbers, that would only apply if the OP was asking about owning an Urgent Care Center. Even so, there's a lot of overhead and the guy (whomever he is), making $8,000 a day isn't taking that home. Besides, what does it have to do with being an oncologic surgeon. My comments weren't meant to compare the two fields.

The OP was simply asking about working at one not owning it, in which it is HIGHLY unlikely that he sees 80 patients per day, or that he earns more than a base or even hourly salary. An Urgent Care center may get a total of 80 patients per day, but these are seen by multiple staff members, not just one physician.

 

[NinerNiner999]

Urgent care is an interesting business model for several reasons: 1) CMS funding is on the level of the Emergency Department, meaning if you can bill for level 4 or 5 you will collect well, 2) EMTALA does not apply to urgent care centers because they are not designated Emergency Departments, which means you can only accept patients who have cash or insurance, and 3) if your urgent care center is part of a larger EM group, you can refer sick patients to your ED and bill them twice. Likewise, you can refer patients you discharge from the ED to follow-up in your urgent care center. The overhead is not that big, especially if it is run as described above...

 

[Coastie]

You can make a lot of money doing a lot of things, if you know what you're doing.

"$100 cash per patient?" Eighty patients per day? Where are you getting that stuff? Plain films reimburse poorly, by the way...they're not going to be a huge money-maker for anyone.

From buddies in the field. If you know what you're doing business wise, it's almost a license to print.

 

[Coastie]

Urgent care is an interesting business model for several reasons: 1) CMS funding is on the level of the Emergency Department, meaning if you can bill for level 4 or 5 you will collect well, 2) EMTALA does not apply to urgent care centers because they are not designated Emergency Departments, which means you can only accept patients who have cash or insurance, and 3) if your urgent care center is part of a larger EM group, you can refer sick patients to your ED and bill them twice. Likewise, you can refer patients you discharge from the ED to follow-up in your urgent care center. The overhead is not that big, especially if it is run as described above...

Interesting points.

With the right marketing and business plan, one can get a urgent care center up and running in under 2 years, making mad dollars, and starting the next one with the extra cash flow.

This makes docs happy: $. Patients happy: less $ than ER and no wait. Healthcare system happy: Fewer ER = Less $, and increases health coverage to the needy.

It's the wave of the future...

 

[deleted87716]

[Shrugs.] Urgent care centers seem to open and close like restaurants around here. If it's the wave of the future, plenty of folks are wiping out trying to ride it.

 

[Coastie]

[Shrugs.] Urgent care centers seem to open and close like restaurants around here. If it's the wave of the future, plenty of folks are wiping out trying to ride it.

Alot rides on the business plan..ALOT.

Not to mention market.

Best of luck to all involved, but it works like gangbusters around here...I don't see why, with the business plans I've seen, it wouldn't work elsewhere.

Less cost to patient, faster service, better service, less strain on ERs, less $ strain on healthcare as a whole, better compensation (WAY BETTER) than average FP dreams of making..If you do it right, incredible amounts.

Edit: P.S. Did I mention lower liability?

 

[deleted87716]

Interesting related link: http://www.practicevelocity.com/urgent_care/mistakes.php

 

[Coastie]

Interesting related link: http://www.practicevelocity.com/urgent_care/mistakes.php

Wonderful article, Kent. It's a great place for people to start.

Thanks for posting!