Ashley Blachford, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

What Does Unclaimed Property Mean for Urgent Care Providers?

Urgent Message: Undeliverable refunds of patient balances do not become property of the urgent care center, but rather, after effort to contact patients, must be turned over to the state. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Citation: Ayers A. What Does Unclaimed Property Mean for Urgent Care Providers? J Urgent Care Med. 2024; 18(8):29-31 Urgent care centers frequently carry patient balances due to overpayment. This happens with co-pays, co-insurance, deductibles, or other out-of-pocket outlays when the …

Prescription Duration for Urgent Care Patients

Whereas primary care is focused on prevention and management of chronic conditions, urgent care has historically been defined as episodic treatment for non-acute or acutely rising conditions—which are not medical emergencies but generally call for evaluation within 24 hours. As such, it would be expected that urgent care providers would prescribe medications only for the duration of a current infection or until a patient can follow-up with a specialist or primary care physician, for example. …

To Evolve is to Succeed

Scott Prysi, MD For the last 30 years, Urgent Care centers have been transforming healthcare by moving the patient to the center of care—that means serving patients with urgent medical problems with extended hours and onsite X-ray and lab services when and where they want it. We operated throughout the pandemic when virtually all other healthcare access points closed, and we came out stronger with new relationships with local hospitals and health departments as well …

Contracting: Primary Care Versus Urgent Care

Heather Rothermel When considering contracting for your clinic, it will be important to know how you plan to market your clinic and to ensure that you align with the needs of your community. Will you be a primary care practice, an urgent care practice, or a blended practice? Thoroughly analyzing your market and competition should help guide this decision, but there is a bevy of things to consider—everything from contract type, credentialing requirements, reimbursement methodologies, …

How Changes in Team Composition Affect Performance: What Urgent Care Can Learn from the Sports World

Ivan Koay MBChB, MRCS, FRNZCUC, MD Optimal team dynamics play a key role in productivity and enterprise success. The importance of a well-functioning team is evident every day in urgent care centers (UCCs). Increasingly, rapid turnover of UC staff is becoming normative, and changes in team composition can have significant impact on how well a team functions. Whether from daily shift changes or staff joining or leaving the organization, such changes require adaptations both for …

Expanding the Differential of Thunderclap Headache Beyond Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Case Report

Urgent Message: Cerebral venous thrombosis is a serious cause of headache that can present in a variety of manners, including sudden-onset or “thunderclap” fashion. Caroline S. Mifsud, OMS-IV; Jordan L. Jones, OMS-IV; Michael B. Weinstock, MD Citation: Mifsud C, Jones J, Weinstock M. Expanding the Differential of Thunderclap Headache Beyond Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Case Report. J Urgent Care Med. 2024; 18(8):21-24 Key Words: dural sinus thrombosis, cerebral venous thrombosis, headache, thrombophilia, case report Abstract Introduction: …

A Review of Genital Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma Infections for the Urgent Care Clinician

Urgent Message: Mycoplasma species, most notably Mycoplasma genitalium are an increasingly recognized etiology of persistent urethral discomfort and non-gonococcal urethritis in males. These infections are commonly asymptomatic and can also have significant consequences in females. Antibiotic resistance is a common concern and treatment recommendations differ significantly from those for other sexually transmitted infections. Joseph Something, PA-C; Greg Smithers, PA-C; Ina Park, MD, MS Citation: Something J, Smithers G, Park I. A Review of Genital Mycoplasma …

Abstracts in Urgent Care – May 2024

Encouraging Shorter Course Antibiotic Prescribing Take Home Point: In this quality improvement project, both education with performance feedback in combination with clinical decision support (CDS) were effective in modifying clinician behavior surrounding antibiotic prescribing. Citation: Vernacchio L, Hatoun J, Patane L, et al. Improving Short Course Treatment of Pediatric Infections: A Randomized Quality Improvement Trial. Pediatrics.2024;153(2): e2023063691 Relevance: There is increasing evidence that shorter courses of antibiotics for the treatment of pediatric pneumonias (CAP) and …

Urgent Care Evaluation and Management of Boxer’s Fractures

Urgent Message: Boxer’s fractures are among the most common hand fractures and should be suspected in cases of closed fist injury. Additionally, a laceration that accompanies a boxer’s fracture may represent a fight bite, which should be treated to reduce the risk of infection. Jennifer Hicks, DO; Bradley Strauch, MD Citation: Hicks J, Strauch WB. Urgent Care Evaluation and Management of Boxer’s Fractures. J Urgent Care Med. 2024; 18(8):32-36 Editor’s Note: While the images presented …

Providers Still Not Back to Normal After Change Cyberattack

Two months after the Change Healthcare cyberattack upended payments to a large percentage of the nation’s healthcare providers, organizations say they’re still suffering from the fallout, both financially and logistically, according to Kaiser Health News. Change parent company UnitedHealth Group indicated during a shareholder call on Tuesday, however, that business is largely back to normal, and its chief financial officer said that the company expects full operations to resume next year. The hacking has cost …