Practice Management
A new report from the University of Michigan found 60% of people aged 50 to 80 have visited an urgent care (UC) clinic or a retail store, workplace, or mobile health clinic setting within the past 2 years. The university’s National Poll on Healthy Aging analysis notes that urgent care clinics were the top choice among these alternative sites of care: 47% of respondents say they have accessed UC at least once, and 23% visited …
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Another ransomware group, RansomHub, is allegedly attempting to extort UnitedHealth Group’s Change Healthcare unit in a second round of cyberattacks, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. They claim to possess 4 terabytes of Change’s data and have demanded payment, threatening to sell the sensitive health and financial information of millions of consumers on the dark web. Change Healthcare had previously paid $22 million to the BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware outfit after a February cyberattack that severely crippled the …
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Earlier this month, ExperCARE announced its acquisition of MedCenter Urgent Care, adding several new locations to ExperCARE’s portfolio, while extending its reach into Alabama for the first time. Founded in 2002, MedCenter Urgent Care offers urgent care as well as family medicine. Backed by Seven Hills Capital since September of 2022, ExperCARE operates 7 other locations throughout the greater Savannah, Georgia, area. Acquisition deals: This transaction represents a follow-on urgent care asset for Seven Hills. …
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Saint Alphonsus Health System in Idaho is set to take over an ambulatory surgery center and 2 urgent care centers previously owned and operated by Intermountain’s Saltzer Health. Intermountain had planned to shut down Saltzer Health in Idaho by April if no buyer came forward, according to Healthcare Finance News. The health systems reportedly have been working together to solve the potential community access challenges that would have resulted from the multispecialty physician group ceasing …
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Results from a poll of 1,000 consumers presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts show that half of those who went to an emergency department (ED) believed the amount of time they waited for care was unreasonable. While only 3% of respondents who went to the ED had to wait more than 12 hours, another 6% waited from 8-12 hours, 22% waited 4-8 hours, and 29% waited 2-4 hours. The balance (39%) waited less …
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The Urgent Care Association’s (UCA) Commission on Diversity is seeking organizations to participate in a pilot program for a new commendation for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). UCA created the program as an opportunity for urgent care organizations to be recognized for efforts to address disparities with well-thought DEI strategies. The DEI Commendation will be structured to recognize a commitment to best practices in creating inclusive environments, while fostering equal opportunities and embracing diversity to …
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A recent article in Physicians Practice by Benjamin Barlow, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Experity, summarizes the shifting market position for urgent care (UC). Barlow notes how during the pandemic era, UC clinics stepped up with flexibility and efficiency to deliver SARS-CoV-1 tests at scale. However, after a time, relying on that approach became short-sighted, leading to many clinics shifting away from fundamental urgent care capabilities. Now they must restore balance that is long overdue …
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Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) has launched a new virtual urgent care service specifically for children and young adults up to 21 years old who need after-hours medical attention for non-emergency conditions, according to MobiHealth News. The platform connects patients with CHLA healthcare providers for presentations such as fever, respiratory infections, vomiting, minor eye issues, allergies, bruises, cuts and scrapes. The telehealth providers can offer discharge instructions, send prescriptions to pharmacies, and recommend a referral …
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The share of the procedures provided in urgent care (UC) centers submitted on commercial insurance claims grew 207% from 2013 to 2022, according to an in-depth index report from nonprofit claims-data analysis organization FAIR Health. Teasing out single-year growth, utilization of urgent care centers increased 43% from 2021 to 2022. Growth of these “claim lines”—essentially individual procedures listed on insurance claims—echoes the robust growth in the number of urgent care clinics serving the nation overall, …
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Here at the Urgent Care Association (UCA), we often used to ask ourselves, “Is this a UCA thing or a College thing or a Foundation thing?” Over the past few years of talking to all of you, I learned that we were not the only ones asking this question. When you build a house, over the years, you may add on a fantastic new sunroom, then an expansive extra bedroom, and then maybe you remodel …
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