Practice Management
The “normal” way of doing things is no longer possible for urgent care operators during the COVID-19 crisis. Many around the country are looking at ways they can continue to serve their communities and keep their workers engaged while others are opting to close or consolidate locations. Prevea Health in the Green Bay, WI area, for example, is letting the community know that one of its locations is now dedicated exclusively to patients with upper …
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When President Trump declared a national state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services instituted changes in their licensure requirements, as detailed in the COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Health Care Providers Fact Sheet. While CMS is deferring to individual states on specifics—including on all staff licensure, certification, or registration—the agency is waving many requirements in order to allow healthcare facilities the freedom to make decisions based on the conditions …
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A small double-blind, placebo-controlled study in China has shown there may be promise in the use of hydroxychloroquine in patients with COVID-19. The researchers randomized 62 people with early COVID-19 infection into two groups. The control group received placebo, and the treatment group received 200 mg of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) twice daily for 5 days. Time to clinical recovery (TTCR), clinical characteristics, and radiological results were assessed at baseline and at the end of the study …
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The COVID-19 pandemic is pushing public health officials, hospital administrators, the general public, and certainly healthcare providers to limits unseen in this lifetime. As always, though, it’s essential to correctly code for services provided in order to ensure urgent care centers are paid for the care they provide. Fail to do that, especially in the midst of economic chaos, and your business will suffer. Experity will host a webinar designed to help you on Thursday, …
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Hospitals in some U.S. cities are getting slammed with COVID-19 patients, leaving some patients to consider what their best option might be when they need immediate care. Many know urgent care is the best bet. Before the term COVID-19 even existed, however, operators of freestanding emergency rooms touted their own ability to see patients with a broad array of injuries and illnesses faster than would be likely in conventional emergency rooms. It’s a claim that …
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The Urgent Care Association has teamed up with the College of Urgent Care Medicine and the American College of Emergency Physicians to issue a one-page risk stratification guide that suggests best practices when dealing with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases. The complete guide, which separates patients into Risk Category I (consider discharge and home monitoring) or Risk Category II (consider transfer to ED) is available here.
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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has broadened the array of acceptable destinations for ambulance transport—with urgent care centers prominent among those destinations. If transport to a hospital emergency room is not medically appropriate because of conditions at that hospital, for example, ambulances can bring patients to an urgent care center, community mental health center, federally qualified health center, physician’s office, ambulatory surgery center, or any location providing …
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Studies of COVID-19 from around the world are just starting to bear fruit. One, just published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, reveals that the salivary viral load of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is highest in the first week after symptom onset. While viral RNA was detected 25 days after symptoms onset in one patient, serum samples from 16 patients were negative at 14 days. Serial viral load was ascertained through reverse transcriptase …
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Some urgent care operators are employing telemedicine to help identify patients who need to be tested or who need treatment for COVID-19 vs those who don’t—the idea being to keep people at home and out of healthcare facilities for as long as possible, if they need to go anywhere at all. ZOOM+Care is going one step further toward that goal by piloting a saliva-based, self-sample test that patients can do for themselves at home. The …
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Some urgent care operators are seeing patient visits—and associated revenue—dwindle as people heed advice to stay home, where they’re less inclined to get sick or injured. As this period of self-isolation continues, they may be forced to consider cutting back on staff—or worse. However, U.S. Senate Bill 3548, also known as the CARES Act, would provide bridge loans to companies with fewer than 500 employees. The bill is expected to be passed by the House …
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