What Urgent Care Operators Need to Know about Surging Visit Volumes

The 2025 respiratory season is peaking slightly later than usual, which can be seen in CDC and Solv data. Visit volumes across the Solv network were 15% higher in December and January compared to October, and demand is still strong into February.

At the same time, deductible season is in full swing, meaning more of your revenue is coming from patient payments instead of insurance reimbursements. Clinics that aren’t collecting upfront are seeing rising accounts receivable (AR), payment delays, and cash flow strain.

Why this matters for your clinic 

Sustained high visit volumes plus deductible resets create a snowball effect on your revenue cycle management. Clinics relying solely on post-visit patient billing are already seeing outstanding patient balances pile up.

Delayed payments slow down operations, strain staff, and frustrate patients. No one likes a surprise bill months later, and front desk teams shouldn’t have to spend extra time chasing payments while also managing a busy waiting room.

Consider the impact visit volume and an increase in average bill size can have on your revenue:

One of our partners saw a 35% increase in the average patient responsibility from Q4 to January 2025. If your visit volumes are also up 20% during that same period, your estimated increase in patient revenue to cash flow jumps up 59%.

Volume spikes during deductible resets mean patient revenue has a bigger impact on your bottom line.

How clinics are staying ahead

Urgent care operators who adapt to the shift in volumes and patient responsibility are making small but meaningful changes at the front desk to improve both patient experience and financial performance. Here’s what’s working:

• Providing real-time cost estimates so patients know what they owe upfront, increasing trust and payment likelihood.
• Training staff to confidently discuss payments for smoother transactions at check-in.
• Saving cards on file to eliminate post-visit collection headaches.

Without the right tools or workflows, staff often default to offering payment plans, partial payments, or just not collecting at all – even when patients are ready and willing to pay in full.

Many urgent cares are shifting to retail-style transactions, where payment happens at the time of service – just like booking a flight or ordering groceries online.  Automation is making this easier by:

• Auto-running eligibility checks so staff knows exactly what to collect.
• Providing digital payment options like text-to-pay and Apple Pay for convenience.
• Automating post-visit billing and follow-ups to reduce administrative workload.

Clinics that lean into better workflows and automation see higher, faster payments – and happier staff. With the right tools, front desk teams can spend less time chasing payments. 

What’s next?

With the respiratory season lasting into February or beyond and more patients paying out-of-pocket, urgent care clinics need to act now to protect their cash flow. Preparing staff, leveraging automation, and adjusting workflows for faster, more predictable payments will be key to navigating Q1 successfully.

For a deeper dive into these trends and best practices, watch the full webinar here.