What Healee learned from the first wave of telehealth
Zocdoc Expands Urgent Care Bookings To Meet Surging Demand
Dive Brief:The expansion comes after the company has gradually bolstered its urgent care marketplace offering, according to Zocdoc founder and CEO Oliver Kharraz.
"We had dabbled in urgent care in the past, but given the growing demand — both from patients and providers — we are now focusing on this as one of Zocdoc's fastest-growing categories," Kharraz said in an interview.
Waiting time for a new-patient appointment averages 26 days, according to a survey last year from AMN Healthcare and Merritt Hawkins. At the same time, patient volumes at urgent care centers have climbed 60% since 2019.
The instant, on-demand nature of urgent care appeals to patients, according to Kharraz.
"Urgent care, with its prevalence and immediacy, resonates with patients today," the CEO said. "If the national wait time to see a provider is 26 days, but patients know they can be seen within a few hours at an urgent care facility, that is a compelling value proposition."
Kharraz sees younger patients seeking out urgent care as part of a broader care routine, combined with primary care visits.
"In looking at the demographic trends of urgent care utilizations, younger patients book at a higher rate; 40% of urgent care bookers were in their 20s, 33% in their 30s and 26% were over 40 years old," Kharraz said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to growth in urgent care centers, with two to three times more patients seeking out care at urgent centers during the pandemic compared with "normal numbers" of new patients, according to the Journal of Urgent Care Medicine.
Zocdoc Launches Urgent Care On Its Marketplace, Accelerating Patients' Access To Care For Acute Issues
As one of the fastest-growing care categories on Zocdoc, patients can now instantly book appointments online with Urgent Care facilities across 22 states and more than 200 locations
NEW YORK, May 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zocdoc, the leading healthcare marketplace that makes it easy for people to find and book in-person or virtual care across +200 specialties and +12k insurance plans, today announced that it is adding Urgent Care to its marketplace. Today, patients can find and book appointments with urgent care facilities across 22 states and more than 200 locations, with more joining Zocdoc each month. In fact, Urgent Care is one of the fastest-growing care categories on Zocdoc among patients and providers alike; in 2023, the volume of new urgent care facilities on Zocdoc has grown by an average of nearly 40% month over month and urgent care bookings has grown by an average of 80% month over month.
"Our aim at Zocdoc is to help every patient find and book every type of care, and this launch reflects the fact that Urgent Care has become an important part of both a patient's medical team and the healthcare ecosystem on the whole," said Oliver Kharraz, M.D., Zocdoc founder and CEO. "Urgent Care is in high consumer demand, and we are proud to facilitate fast access to care for patients' acute and urgent needs by adding this new care category to Zocdoc's marketplace."
The urgent care segment has grown dramatically over the past decade, with no signs of deceleration. From 2013 to 2019, there was a nearly 60% increase in the number of urgent care facilities across the U.S. Alongside the growth in supply has been a rapid growth in utilization among patients. One study by the Urgent Care Association shows that urgent care facilities handle nearly 90 million visits each year, which "includes more than 29% of all primary care visits in the US and nearly 15% of all outpatient physician visits."
Patients can find and instantly book an urgent care appointment through Zocdoc, preventing unknown, long waits upon their arrival. At a time when patients are sick or in pain, knowing they can register ahead of time, show up for a confirmed visit at a set time, and quickly be seen provides tremendous peace of mind.
In looking at Zocdoc user booking trends across the urgent care category, one in four appointments take place after hours (6 pm to 11 pm), when the doctors office is typically closed. Additionally, 51% of urgent care appointments take place within 5 hours of booking, as compared to 7% for non-urgent care appointments booked on Zocdoc. In looking at the demographic trends of urgent care utilizations, younger patients book at a higher rate; 40% of urgent care bookers were in their 20s, 33% in their 30s, and 26% were over 40 years old.
When it comes to the types of care Zocdoc users are seeking at urgent care facilities, the top ten visit reasons booked to date are: Illness, Urgent Care Consultation, Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Testing, Sore Throat, Vaginal Discharge / Infection, Prescription / Refill, Annual Physical. Sinus Problems / Sinusitis, and Ear Infection.
For urgent care facilities, Zocdoc helps them reach new patients and more effectively manage their patient flow by giving them greater visibility into when patients will be coming in so they can staff accordingly. Leading care organizations have already signed up to list their urgent care facilities and real-time appointment availability on Zocdoc.
"Zocdoc provides a convenient way to find and book care, empowering us in our mission to make great healthcare accessible to all," said Kerem Ozkay, Chief Operating Officer, Carbon Health. "With Zocdoc, we're able to reach new patients and maximize provider time so clinicians can focus on what they do best. As we expand across virtual services and 120+ clinics for in-person visits, we value Zocdoc for helping us better connect our patient community to the care they need, when they need it."
"We've found that there is no more efficient new patient acquisition channel than Zocdoc," said Elizabeth Stefanishina, Director of Administration for Rockwell Health Center. "We joined Zocdoc to increase our visibility and awareness and to drive new patient volume for our new urgent care locations in Astoria, Queens and Red Hook, Brooklyn. In the brief time that we've been listed on Zocdoc's marketplace, it has already delivered on all of this."
As always, Zocdoc is completely free for patients to use and there is no upfront cost for healthcare providers to join Zocdoc. They simply pay a one-time fee when a new patient books with them through Zocdoc's marketplace; all future bookings made by that patient for that provider are facilitated at no additional charge.
If you are an orthopedic, pediatric, or general urgent care organization, or a primary care group offering walk-in appointments and are interested in joining Zocdoc's marketplace to reach new patients who are seeking care, visit zocdoc.Com/join.
About ZocdocZocdoc is the leading healthcare marketplace that helps every patient find and book every type of care. Each month, millions of patients search Zocdoc's marketplace, via Zocdoc.Com or the free Zocdoc app, to find in-network doctors, see their real-time availability, and instantly book in-person or virtual appointments, and more. With a mission to give power to the patient, Zocdoc delivers the seamless healthcare experience patients expect and deserve.
Zocdoc contact:Jessica Aptmanjessica.Aptman@zocdoc.Com
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Lymphoma Survivor Knows That Patients Can Be Their Own Best Advocates
Paula Ngon is speaking from experience when she tells patients with cancer that they can be their own best advocates.
"Nobody's going to fight for your life the way that you're going to fight for your life," she told CURE®, "and it's important to speak up when you're feeling like something is wrong."
Ngon, now 28, is a Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor. She was diagnosed in March 2021 after noticing that her lymph nodes had swollen. From the beginning of her cancer journey, Ngon found herself working against disbelief and indifference.
"I went to the emergency room, (and) they didn't really address my concerns," she said. "They told me that there was nothing wrong with me, and I really shouldn't come to the emergency room unless I'm bleeding out on the floor. So that was very discouraging to feel."
Not having a primary care provider at the time, Ngon connected with a doctor via online service ZocDoc who she now describes as her "lifesaver."
"(She) immediately was there to listen and figure out what was going on," Ngon said. "She was a woman of color as well, (and) she said, 'We're gonna figure this out today.'"
An X-ray and ultrasound followed, showing a shadow in Ngon's chest. She connected with an oncologist, was diagnosed with lymphoma and decided to have her eggs frozen before starting chemotherapy.
After the egg retrieval, Ngon was left unable to walk on her own or breathe easily.
"My doctor just kept saying, 'It's probably swollen follicles pushing up against your lungs, it'll go down as you recover.' So I trusted and waited for that to happen," she said. "And eventually I went to the ER. And this was like my last free weekend before I was going to start chemo, so it was an unfortunate place to end up."
Blood had filled her lung cavity, preventing her lungs from fully expanding, a scan revealed.
"It went from 'You're fine, (you're) being overdramatic' to 'This is an emergency situation,'" she said. "They had to drain my lung cavity, and then my lung was able to expand."
Following Ngon's chemotherapy port insertion — something which Ngon said her doctor made her feel like was "the only option" for treatment — her right arm went numb and turned blue. She eventually purchased a sling to support it.
"That was for three weeks of telling my oncologist 'There's something wrong with my arm. It feels like there's vines wrapped around my arm,'" she said.
Ngon and a close friend, both public relations professionals, crafted an email to express her concerns, and her oncologist sent her to see her radiologist. The radiologist, in turn, immediately sent her to the emergency room, where blood clots were found throughout her arm. Ngon was in the intensive care unit for a week or so and said she didn't hear from her oncologist once.
"It was really frustrating, because there were just numerous situations where I was trusting my gut and kind of being gaslit into believing that it wasn't that bad or nothing was wrong," she said. "And when it ended up being worse than even what I imagined, I never got any kind of validation or an apology. And I just really didn't feel safe. I felt like (I was) a number to him."
Ngon switched doctors, and a professional connection led her to Dr. John Leonard of New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, also a member of the scientific advisory board for the Lymphoma Research Foundation. By December of 2021, she was in remission.
'These issues are happening.'Now working with the Lymphoma Research Foundation, Ngon is using her experiences to urge fellow women of color and members of other minority groups to advocate for themselves.
"I think a lot of African American culture teaches you to deal with health issues internally and not talk about it and keep it like tight to the chest and pray to God and all these things," she said. "But then, when you seek support and seek help, you don't see anyone who looks like you."
During her cancer journey, Ngon faced issues due to lack of support — "All these support groups were full of White women. The ignorance that I had about cancer, I was like, 'Is my hair gonna fall out? Because it's a little bit different,'" she said — and she learned that self-advocacy extends beyond the doctor's office into every aspect life, such as navigating the frustrating landscape of billing and insurance.
"It almost just feels impossible to conquer this while also trying to rest and like maintain energy and maintain positivity," she said. "And it's so crazy, (there are) so many things that I just want to speak about because I don't necessarily have the solution to everything, but just (for people) to be made aware that these are issues that are happening."
'It's important to be honest.'Patients should also know that help is out there for them, as Ngon explained.
"When you're in the hospital system … ask for a social worker, and then ask what programs are available, both with LRF and other organizations like (the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) that do give money to patients for transportation, for your bills," she said. "The bills were just piling up, and I had no idea.
"And there are resources outside of just (a) social worker (or) therapy. And I think that if you're able to get matched with someone, wherever you're getting your care, definitely ask for that and they can point you in the direction of organizations that can help. I think that it's kind of overwhelming at the time, where you're trying to stay positive and recovered, to also source all of that information."
When it comes to advocating for oneself, Ngon stressed the importance of honesty.
"I was honest throughout my first experience with my oncologist about the fact that I didn't feel that he was listening or I was disappointed that I hadn't heard from him during my entire time in the (intensive care unit), not knowing what was next or whether I was getting the surgery or not getting the surgery," she said, "and his dismissiveness of my honesty confirmed that maybe he wasn't the right person for me."
Ngon urged patients to find a leveled way to communicate their concerns, and note how their provider responds.
"I just don't think that having to go through all of that convincing and advocating helps when you're also trying to just fight cancer," she said. "You just want it to be a peaceful experience where you can exchange information about how you're feeling and what they think the best options for you are. And if you don't feel like it's a two-way street, I think that being honest allows them the opportunity to show who they really are, and then allows you the opportunity to then move on to someone who will care."
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