Q. What is an acceptable income per patient visit for an urgent care clinic? A. The recent benchmarking survey completed by the Urgent Care Association (UCA) found that the average urgent care center collects $110 per patient. However, the “acceptable” net revenue per patient visit varies widely from center to center and state to state. It fluctuates based on many variables: Existing contracts from payors State (e.g., payors in California and Arizona typically have lower …
Read MoreAbstracts in Urgent Care: December, 2014
Pulse oximetry and decision-making on hospitalization Key point: Use of pulse oximetry to decide on necessity of hospitalization may need to be reconsidered. Citation: Schuh, S, Freedman S, Coates A. et al. Effect of oximetry on hospitalization in bronchiolitis, JAMA. 2014; 312(7):712-718. Pulse oximetry has been used to help decide when an infant with bronchiolitis should be hospitalized. The authors of this study postulated that providers may be relying too heavily on it, resulting in …
Read MoreClinical Challenge: December, 2014
THE CASE This x-ray was taken on a woman who fell off a ladder. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be.
Read MoreHIPAA Hypos and Privacy Paradigms
John Shufeldt, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP One of the moderately entertaining aspects of law school was answering hypotheticals (“hypos”) in class. They would go something like this: “Mr. Shufeldt, suppose that an off-duty police officer witnesses what she believes is an aggravated assault. Without identifying herself as a police officer, she disarms the assailant and, while doing so, the gun discharges and the bullet strikes and kills a bystander, who happens to be an emancipated …
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Chest Pain, Bradycardia, and ECG Changes in Acute Cholecystitis
Urgent message: Urgent care clinicians should consider the possibility of cholecystitis when evaluating patients with cardiac symptoms. A delay in diagnosis may lead to serious complications, including sepsis. ALONA D. ANGOSTA, PhD, APRN, NP-C, and BRYAN HOLMES, NREMTP Introduction Patients with acute cholecystitis typically complain of right-upper-quadrant pain that radiates to the right shoulder and back, fever, and leukocytosis.1 The pain may also be associated with nausea or vomiting. However, acute cholecystitis can mimic cardiac …
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A Return on Investment Approach to Urgent Care Marketing
Urgent message: In a volume-driven business like urgent care, marketing should be viewed as an investment with a financial return that can be measured in order to allocate the center’s advertising dollars among the tactics most effective in generating patient revenue. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc Practice Velocity Success in the “business” of urgent care boils down to one factor: “feet through the door.” That’s because once a center’s fixed costs are covered, each additional …
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December 2014
Repair of Lacerations of the Face and Scalp: Part 1
Urgent message: Management of face and scalp lacerations requires an appreciation of the unique anatomy, sound repair technique, and consideration of patient expectations for cosmesis. TOYIN FAPOHUNDA-ADEKOLA MD, MBA Lacerations of the scalp and face are commonly seen in the urgent care setting. While these injuries can cause anxiety for both patient and practitioner, the basic tenets and techniques for repair are already well known. Following a systematic approach and appreciating the unique anatomic considerations …
Read MoreThe Role of Urgent Care in Reducing Hospital Readmissions
Lee A. Resnick, MD, FAAFP Early outpatient follow-up after hospital admission has been documented to be an important factor in reducing hospital readmission rates. Readmissions are also well known to cost billions of dollars annually. The problem with readmissions spans all socioeconomic classes and impacts all payors, public and private. As of 2013, the CMS began penalizing hospitals for readmissions, thus efforts are being made to limit these rates as much as possible. Numerous studies …
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Woman with rash
This image was taken of a 44-year-old female who presented to the urgent care center with an itchy rash on her arms and legs that she has never had before. Four 4 days ago, she returned from a church retreat at a camp where she slept in a cabin in the woods. Most of the retreat was indoors. She is the only one with a rash and her husband, who slept in a different bed, …
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