Case Study

Pomelo Health x Exer Urgent Care

SoCal’s First Virtual Waiting Line

How the implementation of a Waiting Room Management system enabled a stress-free
environment for clinic staff and increased patient satisfaction

Executive Summary
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, SoCal’s Exer Urgent Care clinics faced unprecedented
challenges that disrupted daily workflows, caused undue stress for both patients & staff and negatively
impacted patient satisfaction. In January 2021, Exer Urgent Care partnered with healthcare software
specialist Pomelo Health to quickly implement a Virtual Line Management Software across its 19 physical
locations, and 1 virtual clinic. By giving patients the ability to join a clinic’s queue online, from anywhere,
and to be kept updated of their position in real time, Exer Urgent Care was able to increase patient
satisfaction by 45% after only 1 week, as well as create a welcoming and stress-free environment for both
patients & staff.

Number of sites: 19 clinics, 1 virtual clinic

Implementation: 16 days
After the first month: 30 000+ patient registrations
4000+ app download
6000+ visits to Exer Virtual Line webpage

About Exer Urgent Care

Exer Urgent Care - Less Cost. Less Wait. Great Care.

Exer Urgent Care clinics, an Emergency Room alternative located 19 Clinic locations
across Southern California, addresses the healthcare needs
1 Virtual clinic
of adults and children in a safe and inviting setting. Staffed
by ER doctors, Exer combines the best clinical expertise with 1M+ Patients
convenience to provide the best experience possible, when 500 Employees
patients need immediate care. Clinics are equipped with an on-
site lab, X-ray services, and an online portal that allows patients to
conveniently access their health files online.
The Challenge
As one of the fastest-growing urgent care providers in
Southern California, Exer Urgent Care has recently increased
their labour force by 255%, hiring over 400 employees and This challenging
opening several new clinics. This rapid growth combined situation had an effect
with the global pandemic gave rise to unprecedented beyond the waiting room.
challenges.

“Healthcare givers could not give

With a 127% increase in patient volume, waiting room
good service to their patients
management software became a must-have. New COVID-
because they were stressed and
related social distancing measures caused lineups to
rushed. Their patients are now in
lengthen to the point of blocking access to parking lots and
a good mood when they arrive at
adjacent businesses.
their appointment which makes the
interactions so much easier and it
On some occasions, patients had to wait outside in the heat
has had a positive impact on their
for their urgent care appointment, which naturally caused
own mental health as well.”
concern, dissatisfaction and frustration. Clinic staff also had
to communicate with patients in-person in order to manage
Provider,
wait-time expectations and try to give patients some sort
of idea of the time until they would receive care, all while Exer Urgent Care La Cañada
tending to their usual administrative workloads.

Why Pomelo Health

Having been looking for a software solution for quite some time, executives at Exer Urgent Care were
already in discussion with another vendor when they were introduced to Pomelo Health. However, two key
factors made Pomelo stand out: efficiency regarding implementation — both teams worked weekends &
over the holidays to ensure the software was ready in time — & ease of use regarding the software.

Most available softwares need major integrations with clinic EHRs and can be cumbersome. Pomelo’s
software, however, fits right in with existing clinic flows, is easy to operate and can be customized to fit
the needs of each clinic.

Simplicity & Stand alone with Customizable and Quick & flexible
ease of use of no integrations personalized implementation
the software needed software timelines
The Solution
Simplicity is at the heart of all Pomelo solutions and this Virtual Waiting Line is no exception.

Exer’s patients can now register online for a same-day, in-person or virtual consultation, without ever
leaving their home and be added to the Virtual Waiting Line. They can also register onsite at the clinic by
scanning a QR code, or be added manually by the clinic staff.

Once they’re registered, patients receive SMS messages to notify them of their position in line and as their
turn approaches, they receive instructions to head to the clinic. Patients can also download the Pomelo
application, for real-time updates on their place in the line. This provides a seamless, comfortable, and
transparent experience for the patient and eliminates the need to wait in line at the clinic for hours.

“With Pomelo’s software,

The Results I can now see which of my
Today, you won’t find a lineup outside an Exer urgent care center. locations are overstaffed or
With Pomelo’s Waiting Room Software rolled out at every one of understaffed and fix it right
their clinics, long lineups have been eliminated. away. It helps me manage
my resources and organize
Patient satisfaction, one of the most important indicators of success my schedules in advance
for urgent care providers, has been steadily increasing since the so we know where to send
implementation of a virtual waiting room, going up 45% in the first our directors or extra staff
week alone. proactively.”
- Brian Chao
Qualitative feedback from patients and clinic staff alike corroborate
Chief of Performance Excellence, Exer
these findings; because patients are kept informed of their position
in line, they are less anxious and more timely - and it shows. They
are less stressed when going in for their consultations and providers
are also able to focus solely on offering great care.
Increase of 45% in
The experience on Exer’s side has also greatly improved. Staff can patient satisfaction after
one week of going live
easily keep an eye on workflows and progress through a clear and
customizable dashboard. Pomelo’s Waiting Room Management
software is adaptable to the needs and patient traffic of each
location, and it gives administrators the ability to swiftly assign Stress-free environment
staff accordingly. for clinic staff

Additionally, for the first time in months, clinic staff have been
enjoying lunch breaks outdoors, a trivial activity that used to cause
anger among patients waiting outside the clinic. “It’s like a weight Safe and secure lobbies
has been lifted off our shoulders,” described one employee. for patients

Learn more about

Pomelo’s Waiting Room Management System

pomelohealth.io
Learn more about info@pomelohealth.io
Exer Urgent Care’s Virtual Waiting Line sales@pomelohealth.io