Practice Management
A survey conducted by the American Hospital Association (AHA) from March 9-12, 2024, found that among the 1,000 hospitals responding, 94% say they are experiencing financial impact related to the Change Healthcare cyberattack that was first discovered on February 21. According to AHA, more than half of the surveyed hospitals say they are facing “significant or serious” impact. Additionally, more than 80% of hospitals say the cyberattack has affected their cash flow, and 74% of …
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Twelve percent of clinicians health executives say they remain pessimistic about their organizations ever fully restoring their financial health to prepandemic levels, according to a report by NEJM Catalyst that was analyzed by Becker’s Hospital Review. The revelation has raised concerns within the healthcare industry. Despite an increase in patient volumes, 54% of respondents (health systems, clinics, physician organizations, or other facilities) reported that their organization’s financial health was somewhat or significantly worse than before …
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A bill that has found its way through the California Legislature aims to raise minimum wages for healthcare workers. Those who work in urgent care centers are specifically called out in measures included in SB 525. Governor Gavin Newsome has until October 14 to sign or veto the bill. According to Cal Matters, the amended version of the policy has the support of the state’s hospital association, employers, and labor groups. How it rolls out: …
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Comarketing different aspects of your urgent care operation may not only be possible, but downright advisable according to an article published recently by Physicians Practice. Most obviously, devising (or more to the point, paying an agency to devise) separate strategies for your urgent care and primary care services, for example, is obviously more costly. However, the article also points out that such an approach disregards the fact that patient needs can be complex and while …
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Time was that retail shopping centers and other commercial spaces were off limits to urgent care operators searching for new locations. The presumption was that a medical facility would not only fail to attract foot traffic, but might even drive away shoppers who didn’t want to run into possibly contagious people on their way into Old Navy or coming out of Panera on their way back to work. Fast forward to 2022 and real estate …
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As of this writing, there remains roughly $150 billion available through the Payroll Protection Program. With the March 31 application deadline for first- and second-time prospective borrowers now in sight, however, the window for obtaining support that might help you keep your business afloat is closing. Some of the community banks charged with facilitating loans are targeting niche customers within certain markets—which could work to your advantage—such as businesses with fewer than 20 employees. Obviously, …
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Urgent care operators who missed the boat on the first round of Paycheck Protection Program loans from the Small Business Administration—or those who have already taken part and need additional help—take heed: the window for both the first and second draw is open again. As in the first leg of the program, loans are actually issued through particular banks, though the SBA has set up a lender match feature to help applicants connect with lenders. …
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The Small Business Administration just released new details of its Paycheck Protection Program—including which businesses (including urgent care centers) will be identified publicly by name; the status of “loan forgiveness” considerations; and extension of the PPP through August 8. The SBA released the names of businesses that borrowed more than $150,000 through the PPP. Businesses that borrowed less remain anonymous. The SBA has not started accepting applications for loan forgiveness yet. Banks that are facilitating …
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The United States Department of Labor has ordered a Mississippi urgent care operator to pay $147,622 in back wages to 16 nurse practitioners who were illegally deprived of overtime pay. The operator classified the NPs as independent contractors rather than employees and, as such, paid them a regular hourly rate—even when they worked more than 40 hours in a week, which is where they ran afoul of the law. The Department of Labor found that …
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An article just published online by NBC News takes potshots at the cost of healthcare marketing, implying (and outright stating, through “experts” quoted in the piece) that it raises healthcare spending unnecessarily and causes some consumers to fret over diseases they didn’t even know existed. It cites data, published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association, revealing that overall healthcare marketing spending is up to $30 billion a year (nearly twice what it …
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