Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Practice Management

 

How Urgent Care is the Antidote to Traditional Doctors’ Offices

By bnapolitano  /  October 1, 2018
Urgent message: Changing consumer expectations have led experts to question the future viability of “traditional” doctors’ offices, but urgent care…
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How Urgent Care is the Antidote to Traditional Doctors’ Offices

Does Your Urgent Care Need a Chaperone Policy?

By bnapolitano  /  October 23, 2018
Urgent message: In today’s world of flying accusations of personal misconduct, having a clearly defined (and followed) chaperone policy helps…
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Does Your Urgent Care Need a Chaperone Policy?

A 32-Year-Old Male with Unsteady Gait

By bnapolitano  /  October 1, 2018
Urgent message: Early diagnosis and management of multiple sclerosis are crucial for long-term prognosis. Urgent care providers must be vigilant…
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A 32-Year-Old Male with Unsteady Gait

Syphilis in the Urgent Care Center

By bnapolitano  /  October 1, 2018
Urgent message: Seeking information beyond the stated history  can prompt  important information that informs the true diagnosis. This is especially…
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Syphilis in the Urgent Care Center

An 11-Year-Old Boy with Groin Pain After Playing Soccer

By bnapolitano  /  October 16, 2018
The patient is an 11-year-old boy who presents with groin pain following a soccer game yesterday afternoon. View the image…
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An 11-Year-Old Boy with Groin Pain After Playing Soccer

Urgent Care News

Can the HEART Score Guide Next Steps for Urgent Care Patients Presenting with Chest Pain?

The words chest pain get the immediate attention of clinicians in any practice setting, including urgent …
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Urgent Care Grows in Massachusetts, but ED Visits Are Still Driving Up Healthcare Costs

As in other parts of the country, the number of urgent care centers and other …
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Repurposing Urgent Care X-Ray Machines in Support of a Safe Halloween

A good scare can be part of the fun on Halloween. For kids, it’s most …
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Warn Parents: Don’t Let Young Children with a Cold Have Decongestants

Especially now that flu season is upon us, nervous parents may be visiting urgent care …
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Urgent Care Group Continues Carolinas Buying Spree

You may recall reading here just weeks ago that Urgent Care Group (UCG), backed by …
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Web Exclusive Articles

Does Your Urgent Care Need a Chaperone Policy?

Urgent message: In today’s world of flying accusations of personal misconduct, having a clearly defined …
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Developing an Emergency Preparedness Plan for Urgent Care

Urgent Message: In order for urgent care to meet the on-demand healthcare needs of the …
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Is it Workaholism if You Love What You Do?

Urgent message: While the term “workaholic” has traditionally carried the stigma of addiction and resulting …
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Handling Paid Time-Off in Overtime and Unpaid Leave Situations

Urgent message: Paid time-off (PTO) is a common benefit among urgent care providers, but when …
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Facebook Friendship Between Leaders and Employees: A Good Idea?

Urgent message: Social media strengthens friendships through the sharing of life experiences and common interests, …
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Clinical Articles

Syphilis in the Urgent Care Center

Urgent message: Seeking information beyond the stated history  can prompt  important information that informs the true diagnosis. This is especially …
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Employing the Parental Papoose Technique in Treating Young Children

Urgent message: Children presenting to the urgent care center are often in a state of distress and agitation—to the extent …
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The Approach to the Hypertensive Patient in the Urgent Care Setting

Urgent message: Previously undiagnosed hypertension is common among ambulatory patients, and urgent care providers are often the first to recognize …
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Approach to Fever and Drooling in Infants and Toddlers

Urgent message: Typical drooling is no cause for alarm in infants and toddlers. However, excessive drooling accompanied by fever or …
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Practice Management Articles

How Urgent Care is the Antidote to Traditional Doctors’ Offices

Urgent message: Changing consumer expectations have led experts to question the future viability of “traditional” doctors’ offices, but urgent care …
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Building Ethical Organizations and Teams

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The …
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Establishing Success Habits for Leaders and Organizations

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The …
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developing-reimbursement

Developing a Reimbursement Policy for CME and Other Employee Expenses

Urgent message: Every urgent care center should have a clear policy outlining which employee expenses, including CME-related expenses, it reimburses …
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Insights in Images Challenges

An 11-Year-Old Boy with Groin Pain After Playing Soccer

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A 48-Year-Old Female Who ‘Rolled’ Her Ankle

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A 58-Year-Old Female With A New Infusion Port And Shoulder Pain

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A 35-Year-Old Man With Thumb Pain After A Fall

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A 20-Year-Old Male With Nasal Pain Following An Injury

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ECG Challenge: A 90-Year-Old Woman With Intermittent Lightheadedness

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JUCM CAREER CENTER

Download Past Issues

October 2018 : Uncovering Syphilis and stopping it in its tracks

CASE REPORTS

A 32-Year-Old Male with Unsteady Gait

Urgent message: Early diagnosis and management of multiple sclerosis are crucial for long-term prognosis. Urgent care …
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Rhabdomyolysis in a Previously Healthy 33-Year-Old Man

Urgent message: Life-threatening degrees of rhabdomyolysis can be seen in young, healthy patients with stable presentation …
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Leg Pain in a 34-Year-Old Man

Urgent message: The ability to differentiate deep vein thrombosis from other diagnoses such as cellulitis is …
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Cervical Facetitis—An Unusual Cause of Neck Pain

Urgent message: Though neck pain is a common complaint among patients presenting to urgent care centers, …
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An Uncommon Clinical Presentation of Ovarian Torsion

Urgent message: Abdominal pain is an extremely common complaint in the urgent care setting. The differential …
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HEALTH LAW

Animals Used for Medical and Support Assistance in the Urgent Care Setting

Urgent message: Urgent care providers must be prepared to address the increasing presence of dogs and …
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HIPAA-Compliant Disclosure in Workers’ Compensation

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice …
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Which Way to Go: The Pros and Cons of 1099 vs W-2 Income for Urgent Care Physicians

Urgent message: To avoid running afoul of labor and tax laws, urgent care operators should understand …
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Effectively Utilizing 90-Day Probationary Periods for New Employees

Urgent message: A 90-day probationary period suspends the standard employment rules for new employees, enabling them …
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New Rules for Beneficiary Inducements at Urgent Care Centers

Urgent message: Unlike other retail businesses, which commonly provide gift cards and other incentives in marketing …
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CLINICAL CHALLENGES

A 16-Year-Old with Severe Pain and Immobility After a Basketball Mishap

Case The patient is a high school athlete who is brought to your urgent care center with severe pain in …
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A 62-Year-Old Woman with Palpitations

     Case The patient is a 62-year-old woman who presents to your urgent care center with a feeling of …
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A 72-Year-Old Man with Black Skin Lesions

Case A 72-year-old man brought his wife into the urgent care center because she woke up with a raw throat …
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A Runner with a History of Foot Pain

Case The patient is a 27-year-old male who presents to urgent care with foot pain, for which he says there …
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A 61-Year-Old Man Who Is Lightheaded and Dizzy

Case The patient is a 61-year-old man who presents to the urgent care center with lightheaded dizziness, which he says …
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OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE

Latest Drugs Added to Panel Turn Up More Often in Positive DOT Tests

The U.S. Department of Transportation added four semisynthetic opioids to its drug testing panel on the first of this year …
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Attention Occ Med Providers: FMCSA Loosens Up Rules on Diabetic Commercial Drivers

With publication of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) new Qualification of Drivers; Diabetes Standard, drivers who have insulin-treated …
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Boom in ‘Company Doctors’ Could Be a Boon for Urgent Care/Occ Med Providers

The popularity of workplace medical practices has waxed and waned for ages, but with major employers like Amazon and Apple …
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New Quest Diagnostics Data Show Drug Use Among Workers Remains High

It may come as no surprise to urgent care providers who offer occupational medicine services such as drug testing, but …
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Beware Patients Who’ll Go to Great—Great—Lengths to Pass Drug Tests

The opiate crisis and legalization of marijuana in some states has upped the ante for occupational medicine providers charged with …
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Revenue Cycle Management

Small Errors Could Cost Big Bucks When Billing for I&D

Q: While reviewing charts where incision and drainage (I&D) procedures were being performed, I came across instances where Current Procedural …
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2019 International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) Codes

October 1, 2018 will bring 279 new codes to ICD-10-CM. Combined with 51 deactivated codes (and 143 revised codes), that …
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Clarifying the Coding for Splint and Cast Application by Nonphysicians

Q: I would like clarification on an article I read in The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine (JUCM) online archive …
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New Medicare Cards

Q: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) started issuing new Medicare cards to beneficiaries in April of this …
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Reduction in Reimbursements for Modifier -25

Q: Last fall, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield sent a notice to physicians in several states regarding their intent to …
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DEVELOPING DATA

Urgent Care Visits Go Up (and Up, and Up) While Costs Remain Low vs the ED

The key question posed by the authors of an article published last month in JAMA Internal Medicine: How have patterns …
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Warning: The Future of Patient Engagement May Require Straying Beyond Your Comfort Zone

Urgent care has faced many challenges since its inception—starting with trying to get healthcare consumers and insurers to understand what …
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Urgent Care Ownership: Corporations on the Rise, Physicians and Hospitals on the Decline

The urgent care industry—always revolutionary compared with other practice settings—is undergoing a revolution of its own. First, entrepreneurial physicians ruled …
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One More Look at Head Injury Presentations in Urgent Care

In this issue, we’ve offered an urgent care perspective on which patients presenting with head injury are most likely to …
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When is On-Demand Care Most In-Demand?

The combination of convenience and quality is the hallmark of the urgent care industry. As time goes on and patients …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care

Abstracts In Urgent Care – October 2018

New Data Show ‘Steep and Sustained’ Increase in STD Occurrence—Especially Syphilis Key point: Over the past 5 years, rates of …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care – September 2018

WHO Announces ICD-11, Coming Next Year Key point: New set will reflect current terminologies and classifications, integrate more smoothly with …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care – July 2018

CDC Attributes 200+ Cases of Coagulopathy to Synthetic Cannaboids Key point: “Marijuana alternatives” are widely available—and being blamed for multiple …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care – June 2018

Some Oral Antibiotics Up Risk for Kidney Stones Key point: Oral antibiotics are associated with an increased risk for nephrolithiasis …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care – May 2018

Factors Influencing Provider Efficiency—or Inefficiency—in the ED Key point: Emergency department study on provider efficiency has relevance to urgent care …
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Urgent Care and Antibiotics: Advancing Care and Stewardship

Antimicrobial stewardship is defined as a coordinated program that promotes the appropriate use of antimicrobials (including antibiotics), improves patient outcomes, …
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Anger Management: Hostile Encounters in Urgent Care

Eliminating disruption, distraction, and dissatisfaction is paramount to delivering efficient and high-quality care these days. More than ever, urgent cares …
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Slow Medicine: ‘Unprescribing’ America

#TimesUp; #NeverAgain; #Privacy; #OpioidCrisis; #BlackLivesMatter…. The last year has been a dramatic one for turning points in long-festering social issues …
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Chasing Flu: Predictably Unpredictable

I have managed urgent cares for nearly 20 years and can officially say that predicting flu is for fools! Perhaps …
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The Change Gang: Adopting a Disruptive Culture

We’ve all heard it: Why do we have to change? This is the way we’ve always done things! Change is …
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