How Urgent Care Outreach Can Become a Powerful Referral Engine

READ TIME – 7 MINUTES

Hello from Podiatry Practice Mastery,

When someone injures a foot or ankle, they often start at urgent care. That creates two opportunities for a podiatry practice: become a resource for urgent care clinicians, and make it easy for patients and referring doctors to find your practice when prompt foot and ankle care is needed.

Here is how I would build both sides of that system.

Part 1: Market to urgent care centers by helping them

I’ve seen patients after urgent care visits whose foot or ankle problems needed more evaluation. Sometimes the initial treatment was appropriate and the patient simply needed follow-up. Other times, their symptoms raised concern for an injury or condition that is easy to overlook.

Examples I would cover in a teaching session include:

• A midfoot injury that could involve the Lisfranc joint

• A possible Achilles rupture

• A high ankle sprain

• Persistent ankle pain that may involve an osteochondral injury

• A possible navicular or other occult fracture

• A hot, swollen foot in a patient with neuropathy

• A diabetic foot wound or infection that is worsening

The goal is to help urgent care clinicians recognize when a patient needs another look and where that patient should go next. A suspected injury may need prompt specialist follow-up, while a severe or complicated infection may need emergency evaluation. Those pathways must be clear. Clinical guidance supports further evaluation when a Lisfranc injury remains suspected despite initial imaging, and urgent surgical consultation for severe diabetic foot infection or certain complicated moderate infections.

Offer a short, useful presentation

I would start with a small list of nearby urgent care centers and offer a 20- to 30-minute session:

“Commonly Missed Foot & Ankle Problems: What to Treat, What to Refer, and What Needs Immediate Escalation.”

For each case, show the presenting complaint, the finding that should raise concern, an appropriate initial step, and the referral decision. Make it useful for the clinicians and the staff who help patients arrange follow-up.

You could present it over lunch, deliver it live by video, or record it for new clinicians to watch later. A brief session that helps a team make better decisions is more valuable than a generic request for referrals.

Leave a one-page referral guide

The handout should be easy to use during a busy shift. Include:

1. Problems your practice can evaluate, such as foot and ankle injuries, fractures, heel pain, wounds, and ingrown toenails.

2. When to refer promptly, with examples that match your clinicians’ capabilities.

3. When to send the patient to the emergency department instead.

4. How to contact your practice, including the correct phone number or referral link.

5. What to send, such as the visit note and available imaging information.

Give urgent care staff a patient handout as well. It might say: “Your clinician recommends foot and ankle follow-up. Call [number] and tell us you were referred by [urgent care center]. Please bring your visit summary and imaging information.”

Before distributing it, make sure the front desk recognizes that wording and knows what to do when the patient calls.

Build the relationship over time

After the presentation, follow up with the clinical lead or office manager. Ask whether the referral process worked, whether patients could get appointments, and whether there are other cases their clinicians would like you to cover.

Being available for an appropriate curbside question can build trust. So can sending a brief educational update or a case example. The aim is to become a reliable local resource.

Part 2: Create your own podiatry urgent care page

You do not have to wait for another office to refer patients. Many people search for help when they have a new injury or a painful foot problem and do not know whether to visit urgent care, an emergency department, or a podiatrist.

A dedicated page on your practice website can answer that question and make the next step obvious. I would call it something clear, such as “Podiatry Urgent Care” or “Urgent Foot & Ankle Appointments.”

Tell patients whom the page is for

Near the top, list the problems your practice can actually accommodate promptly. For example:

• New foot or ankle injuries

• Suspected fractures or sprains

• Sudden heel or Achilles pain

• Painful ingrown toenails

• Worsening foot pain that needs assessment

Match this list to the clinicians, equipment, appointment availability, and triage process in your office. Avoid promising same-day appointments unless you can reliably provide them.

The page also needs a clear instruction for problems your office cannot safely manage through routine online booking. Patients with concerning symptoms should be directed to call for triage or seek emergency care as appropriate. Have your clinicians approve that language.

Make the booking step simple

A visitor should immediately see:

Need help with a new foot or ankle problem? Call [number] or request an urgent appointment.

If you offer online scheduling, make sure the appointment type routes to the right clinician and leaves enough time for the visit. If a patient must call first for triage, say so plainly.

I would add a short section titled “What happens at your visit?” Explain that the clinician will examine the problem, review available imaging or order appropriate studies, discuss initial treatment, and give the patient a follow-up plan. This helps patients understand why they should call your practice.

Make the page useful to referring doctors, too

The same page can serve urgent care centers, primary care offices, and other local clinicians. Add a clearly labeled “For referring clinicians” section with:

• A direct referral phone number or referral method

• The types of patients you can see promptly

• What records or images to send

• How urgent cases are triaged

• What to do if your available slots are full

Then put a QR code or short web address for that page on your referral cards and one-page handouts. A clinician can give the patient a physical card while sending the referral through the normal channel.

Help people find the page

Once the page and scheduling process work, link to it from your homepage, contact page, relevant condition pages, and local outreach materials. Your educational videos and articles about injuries can also point readers toward it when prompt assessment is appropriate.

Keep the message local and specific. A page that clearly explains urgent foot and ankle access is more useful than one that simply says, “We treat everything.”

A caution: Build capacity before you promote access widely

A doctor told me that he opened up his urgent care webpage and distributed handouts to local doctors. The response was substantial: about 30 patients a day began calling, and the volume overwhelmed his system.

Thirty calls are not necessarily 30 scheduled patients. But that experience shows why the operational side matters as much as the marketing.

Before sending handouts broadly or promoting the page, ask:

• How many urgent new-patient appointments can we handle each week?

• Who answers and triages these calls?

• Can the team distinguish a scheduling request from a problem needing immediate clinical attention?

• Which doctor should see which type of patient?

• What happens when the reserved appointments are full?

• Can we track where each call came from and whether it became a visit?

I would pilot the process with one or two referral partners and a manageable number of reserved appointments. Review calls, scheduled visits, time to appointment, and the pressure on your staff each week. Expand when the handoff works consistently.

This can be particularly helpful if a newer doctor has room in the schedule. Set the routing rules in advance so an increase in referrals fills available capacity without disrupting clinicians who are already full.

Put the two parts together

The outreach presentation gives local clinicians a reason to trust you. The referral handout gives them a quick tool. Your urgent care page gives patients and doctors one place to find your services and contact information. Your scheduling and triage process turns that interest into appropriate care.

Start small, teach something useful, and make every step from referral to appointment easy to follow. That is how urgent care outreach can become a referral engine your practice can actually sustain.

Keep making an impact,

Dr. Donald Pelto
Podiatry Practice Mastery

Want to examine whether your schedule and systems can support more referrals? Explore the Practice Audit and other resources.