In Urgent Care settings, the patient experience is always paramount. Every decision, from diagnostics to treatment, focuses not only on delivering quality care, but also on providing an experience that leaves patient’s satisfied and confident in your facility’s commitment to excellence. So for Urgent Cares that are considering implementing in-house Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing, it must first pass the test of being beneficial for each part of the patient journey.
Here, we’ll explore a theoretical case study of a patient’s journey through an Urgent Care that has chosen to utilize in-house PCR and highlight the critical touchpoints where in-house PCR transforms the experience—from initial presentation to post-visit impact.
Michael visited Riverside Urgent Care with severe diarrhea, low-grade fever, and abdominal pain. He expected the usual routine: a quick examination and a script for antibiotics—this is what had been done for him at another Urgent Care he visited a couple of months ago when he was out of town, and he remembers getting better after that. He assumed this was food poisoning and didn’t want to waste any time.
When he met with Dr. Martinez, she acknowledged that this might be due to a foodborne illness, like Salmonella or E. coli, which could be treated with antibiotics. However, she also noted that the wrong antibiotics could be actively harmful if the infective agent was found to be C. Difficile. She suggested that they perform PCR testing, which could test for all the common infective gastrointestinal culprits simultaneously so she could offer a targeted antibiotic from the start.
Michael was frustrated—he didn’t think he had C. Diff and didn’t want to wait days for a result before he could start feeling better. He expressed this to Dr. Martinez, who was able to tell him that their Urgent Care is different from others in the area: rather than having to wait 2-4 days due to sending the sample to an outside reference lab, she could get the sample processed at their in-house PCR lab in order to results back and treatment prescribed within 24 hours. In the meantime, she discussed some lifestyle measures that could help him feel better while he was waiting for a result.
Michael was still frustrated, but the plan laid out by Dr. Martinez seemed reasonable. He was still skeptical that it could be C. Diff—he thought for sure his symptoms were the result of some bad fish he ate. But since the turnaround time was faster than he expected, it made him feel better about her approach.
Waiting for lab results typically creates anxiety and frustration. But Michael's experience was different—he continued to feel ill, but he started working on the symptom management strategies that were given to him and knew a more concrete treatment plan was right around the corner. Unlike his previous Urgent Care experiences where he left with vague timelines about when results might come back, Michael knew exactly when he would hear from Dr. Martinez.
Because they had implemented in-house PCR, the Urgent Care's follow-up system could be built around a rapid and dependable PCR workflow. And since they controlled the process end-to-end, they were able to keep Michael in the loop by sending him text updates at various stages in the sample’s processing. This helped maintain his engagement and made him feel like work was actively being done on his behalf.
The next morning, Dr. Martinez's suspicions were confirmed—Michael's PCR results showed positive for C. difficile. Instead of prescribing the broad-spectrum antibiotics he initially wanted, she was able to promptly call in a script for oral vancomycin.
Because the results came back within 24 hours, Michael was able to start the right antibiotic before his symptoms had progressed and potentially needed escalated care. His initial skepticism over such a diagnosis gave way to a gratefulness in Dr. Martinez’s expertise and her keen clinical eye. He also was amazed at how Riverside’s decision to bring PCR in-house led to an actual impact on his treatment course.
During her follow-up call, Dr. Martinez took time to explain the PCR results to Michael. She explained how his initial assumption about food poisoning wasn’t unreasonable, but that it could have led to harmful treatment. This led to a broader discussion of the fact that antibiotic over-prescribing was quite common, and that providers were doing everything they could to combat the antibiotic resistance those habits cause.
The conversation about antibiotic overuse was more than a general discussion for Michael—he felt its personal effects after learning that the antibiotics he'd received during his out-of-town Urgent Care visit two months ago were likely responsible for his current infection. This understanding helped him recalibrate his expectations for future Urgent Care visits. And because the results had come back so fast, the conversation shifted from one of frustration over waiting for antibiotics to appreciation for careful, evidence-based care.
Patient journeys don’t end after treatment. Some time later, Michael received his bill and called the Urgent Care to arrange for its payment. After speaking to a billing agent, he recalled his other Urgent Care experiences and asked if he should be expecting any other bills in the coming weeks.
The billing agent made clear that this single bill was comprehensive since no outside services were used, and that he wouldn’t be receiving any other invoices. He read the bill more carefully to see that the in-house PCR testing was clearly listed alongside his visit charges as a single, simple line item.
Michael had always dreaded dealing with medical bills. He had good insurance, but felt that every time he received treatment, he was bombarded with multiple conflicting bills, surprise fees, and confusing explanations of services that billing agents always struggled to explain to him. Seeing and taking care of a single, transparent bill made him feel relieved that the process was over.
Some time after his visit, Michael found himself in a conversation with an ill coworker. He found himself explaining that antibiotic overuse is a big problem, and that it’s important to get targeted testing if the condition warrants it. "They could have made me much worse if they had just given me the antibiotics I was asking for," he explained. "Their in-house testing meant I got the right treatment within a day, and the provider I saw said they’re the only Urgent Care in the area that does this."
A happy, healthy, satisfied patient is one that can become an advocate. A scenario like this highlights how in-house PCR testing has the opportunity to transform an Urgent Care's position in the community. Michael's experience shifted from one of initial frustration to becoming an advocate for evidence-based care. For the Urgent Care facility, this can translate into:
In-house PCR testing has the potential to create value at almost every stage of the patient experience. From difficult discussions at the initial presentation, all the way through final billing, molecular diagnostics that actually deliver on the speed they’re capable of can transform frustrating infections into opportunities for satisfying care.
The patient journey in this case study highlights how in-house PCR can exert an influence to achieve:
As the Urgent Care model continues to evolve, facilities implementing in-house PCR testing have the opportunity to position themselves at the forefront of patient-centered care. At Streamline Scientific, we’ve helped 200 clients clear the hurdles of setting up their own in-house PCR labs, from procuring equipment, hiring personnel, establishing workflows, to obtaining CLIA validation.
Let Streamline help you implement in-house PCR to make a positive impact on the journey patients go through at your Urgent Care, too.