Urgent care franchises are growing fast, no medical degree required

Owning a medical practice once meant years of school and a wall full of degrees. But today it can be a practical business opportunity that serves your community, without having to go to medical school. Urgent care centers have become an accessible path to health care entrepreneurship, and one of the more resilient business models in franchising.

Joining us on this episode of Business Trends Today is Jeremy Morgan, CEO of American Family Care. AFC has more than 425 locations across more than 30 states. He says owning an urgent care franchise location is one of the most community-driven, recession-resistant and scalable investments available today. It doesn’t require a medical background, just the right physician partner and a serious commitment to the business.

The AFC Story

American Family Care has been part of the health care landscape for more than four decades. Dr. Bruce Irwin, a physician from Birmingham, Alabama, founded the company in the early 1980s. He operated it for more than 40 years until his death. His family later sold AFC to Orient Capital (now MUFG Corporate Markets), which brought Morgan on to lead the company into its next chapter.

The franchisor owns and operates about 80 of those clinics directly. The rest are all run by franchisees. Combined, AFC clinics see more than 5 million patients a year.

"(Urgent care) has definitely become a front door to the health system for a lot of folks."

Morgan says the growth of urgent care reflects a shift in how Americans access health care. Primary care appointments are harder than ever to get, and emergency rooms can be slow and expensive. Urgent care has stepped in to fill that gap.

What it takes to own an AFC franchise

Owning an AFC franchise does not require a medical degree. Morgan says about 70% of franchise owners come from a business background, not a medical one, but you do need to partner with a physician.

State regulations prohibit non-physicians from practicing medicine under a corporate structure. But one physician partner can cover multiple locations, and AFC helps franchisees make that connection.

“We try to make it as turnkey as possible so that folks are able to hit the ground running and can focus on what they can do best, which is hire great people, take care of that patient experience within their community,” said Morgan.

Getting a single location up and running costs between $1.3 million and $1.5 million, Morgan says. That includes securing a location, build-out, and equipment, including X-ray machines. SBA loans and other financing options are available to qualified franchisees. Once an agreement is signed, Morgan says, it takes less than a year to get up and running.

Local, engaged ownership

Morgan says local ownership is a key part of AFC’s brand strategy, and it works best with owners who are actively engaged.

AFC franchise owners are expected to be present, especially early on. Many start behind the front desk, learning the operation and building relationships with patients.

“Part of our secret sauce with leveraging a franchise model is that you have that local ownership and you’re able to bring forward that aspect of being just a critical part of the community for health care needs,” Morgan said.

Franchise owners with larger footprints can work at a more strategic level, but Morgan says they shouldn’t step away entirely.

“The business that you’re going to own, you better be involved in it if you want to make sure that things are going well.”

A business model ready to scale

AFC’s average franchisee owns about three locations, while some own many more than that. One operator in Florida runs nearly 20 clinics. Morgan says the model lends itself well to multi-unit growth, but scaling up requires building the right infrastructure at each stage.

Having multiple locations allows owners to step back from day-to-day management and focus on hiring, real estate, marketing, and billing. At that level, Morgan says the business starts to run more like a portfolio than a single operation.

For franchisees ready to scale up, Morgan says they need to have their systems locked in before expanding.

“You have to be really, really rock solid on what your scalable systems, processes, and operating procedures look like that can be repeated across locations.”

Morgan says AFC’s support infrastructure helps those solid franchisees grow with technology, billing, insurance contracts, digital marketing, and real estate guidance.

AFC still growing

AFC is still growing, with plans to reach thousands of locations, and a focus on bringing independent urgent care operators into the AFC brand.

Morgan says he sees AFC as an opportunity for physicians who built their own clinics but discovered that the business side was more than they bargained for.

“Sometimes physicians get into the business and they learn really quickly, ‘Oh my gosh, this isn’t just taking care of patients.’ There’s all this business side. We think we can help them with the business side of things and let them focus on what they’re great at.”

Entrepreneurs interested in learning more about AFC franchise opportunities can visit AFCfranchising.com.