Medical assistants (MAs) are the core of urgent care’s clinical support workforce (as noted in Cost Effective Staffing with Medical Assistants in the January, 2017 edition of JUCM; see https://www.jucm.com/cost-effective-staffing-medical-assistants/). However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for MAs is expected to outstrip supply over the next decade, just as the aging baby-boom population will increase demand for physician services—especially in the primary care setting, where the bulk of MAs work. For urgent …
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An Uncommon Mechanism for Work-Related Total Achilles Tendon Rupture
Urgent message: This is a really big deal to urgent care clinicians and operators. Introduction Achilles tendon (AT) ruptures account for approximately 40% of all operative tendon repairs.1,2 With 18 ruptures per 100,000 people, it is the most frequently ruptured tendon—and the incidence of AT ruptures has been steadily increasing over the past few decades.1–4 Typical patients include athletic males between the ages of 30 and 50.3 Because the AT is the strongest, yet most …
Read MoreAbstracts in Urgent Care – April 2017
Lessons from Recent Terrorist Attacks Key point: Investment, integration, standardization, and focus on translating military knowledge. Citation: Goralnick E, Van Trimpont F, Carli P. Preparing for the next terrorism attack: lessons from Paris, Brussels, and Boston. JAMA Surg. 2017 Jan 25. [Epub ahead of print] This viewpoint article in JAMA Surgery sheds light on the need for a more global concerted effort to gather and share lessons from recent terrorist attacks such as those that …
Read MoreCoding for Critical Care Services
Q: Can we bill for critical care services when spending extra time with patients who are very ill? A: It is rare that you would perform billable critical care services in the urgent care setting. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the American Medical Association (AMA), critical care is defined as the direct delivery by a physician(s) of medical care for a critically ill or critically injured patient. A critical …
Read MorePatient Satisfaction: A Collaborative Approach
Patient satisfaction surveys have driven a contentious wedge between management and clinical teams. While management is tasked with ensuring the practice is addressing patient needs and evolving consumer demands, providers are far more concerned with doing the right thing clinically (satisfaction be damned). However, with patient expectations changing, access to care improving, and practice economics eroding, we have to find a way to bridge this issue or we will quickly find ourselves locked in counterproductive …
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Risk of Opioid Use Becoming ‘Long Term’ Rises Within Days
A new study published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report reveals that the risk for long-term opioid use—defined as use that lasts for at least 1 year—increases within just a few days of starting to take a prescribed opioid drug. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at data reflecting the care of more than a million patients who received at least one opioid prescription between June 1, 2006, and September 1, …
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Can ePrescribing Help Urgent Care Fight Against Opioid Addiction?
The episodic nature of the urgent care setting makes it a popular target for opioid addicts “doctor shopping” for someone new to write prescriptions. As such, urgent care clinicians must remain always-vigilant for ways to help stem rampant opioid addiction. One tool that’s built into the urgent care electronic medical record systems (eprescribing) can be a valuable weapon in that fight. Where a paper script—or, worse, a whole pad—can be lost or stolen, an electronic …
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Code 3 Continues to Spread Its Wings with Las Vegas Airport Plans
Just last week we told you that Code 3 Emergency Partners was setting up shop with an urgent care center and freestanding emergency room at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Now the company has announced plans for an urgent care center and pharmacy at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, as well; that location is slated to open in May of this year. The moves are far from random, as Code 3 CEO Carrie de …
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Sometimes Parents Can’t Wait for Their Child’s Pediatrician
Your child wakes up with a sore throat and a fever. Like any responsible parent, you take a sick day and call the pediatrician, only to hear “Sorry, nothing today. We may be able to squeeze you in tomorrow afternoon.” Now what? Well, 42% of the 2,000+ parents surveyed in the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health say they would take their child to an urgent care center, retail clinic, or the …
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Managing Your Urgent Care Center’s Emotional Culture
Urgent message: As in most business settings, urgent care operators emphasize the importance of a positive cognitive culture. Given the close quarters and frequent interaction among colleagues and patients, however, emotional culture can also have a strong influence on quality of care, patient and employee satisfaction—and even the success of the operation. [The following summary of the January-February, 2016 Harvard Business Review Article spotlights how organizations are slowly realizing the importance of managing the emotional …
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