Providers say the need for on-demand care remains strong. Patients are looking for convenient, affordable care, quickly. Urgent care can be an accessible and cost-effective alternative to an emergency room visit. Millions of patients use Zocdoc every day to connect with providers, and in 2023, Zocdoc’s urgent care bookings grew 80% year-over-year. Top visit reasons ranged from sore throats and STI testing to annual physical exams.
GoHealth Urgent Care partners with prominent and progressive health systems to support patients across the entire continuum of care. In just 10 years, GoHealth Urgent Care has grown its partnerships and footprint from 5 co-branded urgent care centers to over 270 nationwide. To help keep up with this rapid growth, a strong patient acquisition strategy was essential. Urgent care’s role in the healthcare ecosystem must grow as patients’ needs and expectations evolve, explains GoHealth.
GoHealth Urgent Care’s model offers valuable insights into achieving this balance. Here are 5 strategies the on-demand healthcare company employs to meet patients’ needs in a positive, healing environment.
1. Near-term visits
The more same- and next-day availability, the more bookings. Nearly 80% of all urgent care bookings on Zocdoc were within 24 hours, with GoHealth and its joint-venture partners seeing over 90% of patient bookings in their centers for visits within 1 day. Whether saving a spot digitally or walking in, patients can expect to receive same-day, quality care from any of GoHealth’s joint-venture partners at any of their co-branded GoHealth locations. With expanded hours of care from 8 am to midnight at 13 locations and growing, GoHealth and its partners are committed to increasing access to on-demand care.
2. Patient-first technology
GoHealth has developed a culture of continuous improvement at the intersection of customer needs, healthcare and technology. To that end, GoHealth invests in tech solutions that improve patient care and digital touchpoints to make accessing care easier and more intuitive. From registration software to an interactive voice response system, and testing AI applications throughout the customer experience, GoHealth and its partners are committed to building multiple paths to care, so patients are empowered to get their questions answered and/or book a visit at any time of day. This is particularly convenient for the 52% of patients who told Zocdoc they prefer to book urgent care visits from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m.
3. In-person and virtual options
Patients want the flexibility to see providers both in-person and virtually. In 2023, providers* who offered both virtual and in-person visits received 51% more bookings on Zocdoc than those who offered in-person only and 217% more than virtual-only providers. GoHealth and its partners offer virtual urgent care visits in 14 states, making this on-demand care option available to 46% of the US population.
*Excluding mental health
4. Partnering with top local healthcare systems
GoHealth partners with the most respected local health systems in their communities to ensure patients receive care from a staff of highly credentialed providers, benefit from shared electronic medical records, and have access to top local specialists when necessary. This means if a patient seeks care for a persistent cough, if medically appropriate, they can get screened for pneumonia, sent for a chest CAT scan and referred to a pulmonologist — all in one visit.
On Zocdoc, patients can easily identify providers that are linked to larger, local healthcare networks. Looking at bookings per provider, across all specialties, providers who have hospital affiliation on their profiles receive more bookings, on average, than those that do not.
5. Closing the gaps
By using technology to bridge gaps in on-demand access to patient care, GoHealth enables its partners to provide urgent care for a variety of conditions, improving outcomes for patients who might otherwise face long wait times to see a doctor.
Urgent care is rapidly expanding to align with patient preferences for convenient, affordable, and prompt healthcare. GoHealth is an industry leader in strategically meeting patients’ needs.
When patients enter any of GoHealth’s co-branded, award-winning centers, they find a welcoming and comfortable environment, state-of-the-art technology and caring team members that help start the healing process immediately. Through GoHealth’s platforms, patients can access effortless on-demand care from GoHealth’s partners, 365 days a year in over 270 co-branded centers nationwide.
For urgent care providers seeking to implement dynamic strategies for acquiring new patients, platforms that emphasize near-term availability, and streamline booking processes are crucial. Moving forward, success lies in offering flexibility through both in-person and virtual visits, fostering local network partnerships, and prioritizing patient-centered care.
Stay tuned for more provider spotlights and consult with an enterprise sales representative to learn more about how Zocdoc can grow your business.
This article was developed in partnership with the provider group highlighted herein.
About GoHealth Urgent Care
GoHealth is an on-demand consumer-centric care platform that serves as the digital and physical front door to the healthcare ecosystem. At GoHealth, we aim to provide timely, accessible and high-quality on-demand care to patients, both virtually and in person, through our technology-enabled and data-driven approach to care and partnerships with market-leading health systems. GoHealth operates over 270 on-demand care centers in the greater New York metropolitan and Hudson Valley area; the Portland, Oregon-Vancouver, Washington, metropolitan area; the San Francisco Bay Area; Hartford and Southeastern Connecticut; Winston-Salem, Charlotte and Asheville, North Carolina; St. Louis, Springfield and Joplin, Missouri; Oklahoma City; Northwest and Central Arkansas; Delaware and Maryland; the greater Detroit, Michigan metropolitan area; the greater Houston, Texas metropolitan area and Northern Virginia. GoHealth Urgent Care is a portfolio company of TPG Growth, the middle market and growth equity investment platform of TPG, which has more than $212 billion of assets under management.