Practice Management
Urgent message: Mediation could produce better outcomes than litigation for patients and physicians—if doctors would only show up. CAROL B. LIEBMAN, JD Introduction A stomach pain is misdiagnosed as viral gastroenteritis. The patient ends up in the hospital for six days with complications from a ruptured appendix. A physician prescribes penicillin to a woman with clearly documented allergies, which leads to anaphylaxis and a day in the ICU. A severe headache is labeled a migraine; …
Read MoreAs a young discipline and industry, urgent care relies heavily on its organizational leaders to advance the political, academic, and developmental agendas that are in the best interest of their constituents. These leaders represent the face and voice of their members on the national stage. Needless to say, we cannot become dependent on the work and vision of a few to dictate the direction and activity of the whole. Member engagement and participation are paramount …
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Urgent message: The patients most prone to sexually transmitted diseases are also mostly likely not to have a primary doctor. Many will turn to urgent care for help. THOMAS SUNSHINE, MD, FACOG As urgent care physicians, we often are presented with patients who are worried that they may have a sexually transmitted disease or infection (STD/I). The number of yearly visits is difficult to estimate because the diagnosis codes of the visits vary. The Center …
Read MoreLee A. Resnick, MD, FAAFP As a young discipline and industry, urgent care relies heavily on its organizational leaders to advance the political, academic, and developmental agendas that are in the best interest of their constituents. These leaders represent the face and voice of their members on the national stage. Needless to say, we cannot become dependent on the work and vision of a few to dictate the direction and activity of the whole. Member …
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This otherwise healthy 32-year-old patient fell during a soccer game, suffered a blow to the thumb of the left hand, and now has a deformity of that thumb. View the image taken and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Click on the button below to see the resolution of the case.
Read MoreDAVID STERN, MD (Practice Velocity) Q.Which CPT codes can be used for diagnosis codes 786.50 (unspecified chest pain) and 414.9 (chronicischemic heart disease-unspecified) to maximize a Medicare patient bill? A.The basic rule of coding is that you should code for the services rendered, not to “maximize a patient bill.” In other words, you should code the best codes that indicate the actual services that were performed. For these codes, you could code for a cardiac …
Read MoreA New Approach to Managing Young Non-Toxic-Appearing Febrile Children Keypoint: Researchers suggest an emphasis on more limited evaluation, now that vaccines have greatly reduced the likelihood of serious bacterial infections. Citation: Jhaveri R, Byington CL, Klein JO, Shapiro ED. Management of the non-toxic-appearing acute lyfebrile child: a 21stcentury approach. J Pediatr. 2011;59(2):159:181. Since the 1970s, considerable attention has been paid to the management of febrile children aged £3 years without an obvious focus of infection. …
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These data from the 2010 Urgent Care Benchmarking Survey are based on responses of 1,691 US urgent care centers; 32% were UCA members. The survey was limited to “full-fledged urgent care centers,” the qualifications for which included accepting walk-ins during all hours of operation, as well as having a licensed provider on site, x-ray and labs on site, the ability to administer IV fluids and perform minor procedures, and being open seven days a week, …
Read MoreJOHN SHUFELDT, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP A large urgent care group has just offered to buy your centers. So now what? First, get some advice. This process is incredibly time-consuming inasmuch as the amount of material and the degree of detailed information required before a sale is consummated is daunting. Also, the way you position and promote your center and the thoroughness of your disclosures will speak volumes about your abilities and will ultimately be …
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