StuWilli, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Follow the Data to Safe, Appropriate Urgent Care

Anecdotal evidence that urgent care is a safe, lower-cost alternative to the emergency room and a more convenient setting than the primary care office is abundant. What about properly designed research that provides hard data, though? The Urgent Care Association of America has made great strides toward validating industry standards with its annual, voluntary benchmarking survey, but otherwise the industry has lagged in researching itself. Now Intermountain Healthcare has taken a step toward filling the …

Why Offer Immunizations and Vaccinations at Your Urgent Care Clinic?

URGENT MESSAGE: Every patient needs vaccinations at one point or another. Yet, some urgent care operators shy away from immunization campaigns for fear that they’re financially risky or are simply too much of a hassle. However, risk can be greatly diminished—or even eliminated—with proper planning, basic understanding of storage requirements, and ensuring your clinic is offering what the community you serve needs. Jack Roberts is an expert marketer who specializes in promoting and growing physician …

Facial Papules in an Adult

A 35-year-old man with a history of human immunodeficiency virus presents with smooth, skin-colored pearly papules with central umbilication on his cheeks, chin, and lateral neck. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be.

Painful Metacarpophalangeal Joint After a Skiing Fall

A 32-year-old man presents to an urgent care center with pain at the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint of the thumb, from an injury sustained the previous week when he was skiing and fell onto his hand with his thumb extended. The patient has pain at the MCP joint with range of motion, but he says that he does not have any numbness. He has no fever, no breaks in the skin, no wrist pain, and no …

A ‘Banner’ Year for 32 Arizona Urgent Care Centers

Banner Health has acquired 32 urgent care centers in Arizona from Urgent Care Extra. The centers will be rebranded as Banner Urgent Care October 1. Banner says it expects to have 50 urgent care centers in Arizona by the end of 2017. More than 400 Urgent Care Extra employees will join the 40,000 Banner employees in Arizona. The system is the largest private employer in Arizona. Banner also operates hospitals in seven western states.

AFC: Fastest Growing Health Company in the U.S., Per Inc. 5000

For the second year in a row (and third time in 4 years), American Family Care (AFC) has earned a place on the Inc. 5000 list, which ranks the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. The company was #1,298 on the list year, but rose to 1,010 this year. AFC also ranked as the fastest growing health-related company in the U.S., based on revenue growth of >300% for the second straight year. AFC was an …

Concussion Rates Are Rising—and Adolescents Are Leading the Way

Adolescents—and parents and other adults who supervise their athletic endeavors and physical activities—should be getting more education about the signs, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of concussions, according to a new study published in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. Researchers evaluated the health records of 8.8 million Humana members, 43,884 of whom were diagnosed with a concussion. The highest incidence was in the 15-19 age group, followed by 10- to 14-year-olds. More than half (56%) …

NERUCA Conference Brings National Urgent Care Expertise to the Northeast

The North East Regional Urgent Care Association launched its annual conference last fall, with the goal of creating an exceptional urgent care learning and network opportunity. This year the two-day meeting will be held October 24-25 at the Crystal Springs Resort, a four-season mountain destination located in Sussex County, NJ, an hour from New York City. The conference will feature three valuable education tracks for leadership, nurses and MAs, and providers. (This activity has been …

Is Orthopedic Urgent Care Really Urgent Care?

As the urgent care industry moves forward, other specialties seek to get on board by establishing niche markets within the urgent care industry. Across the United States, subspecialty urgent care such as orthopedic urgent care, pediatric urgent care, and psychiatric urgent care, etc. are already trying to establishing themselves within the urgent care industry. As these facilities become more specialized and exclusive, the question must be asked: Are these subspecialty facilities urgent care—or just marketing …

Healthcare Helps Drive Thriving Real Estate Markets

The ongoing “consumerization” of healthcare—evidenced by the continuing growth of urgent care, telehealth and other patient-convenience trends—is one key factor in how medical facilities and related operations are fueling a boom in local real estate markets. As medical practice moves away from a hospital-centric model toward a culture more similar to a retail appearance, existing spaces need to be adapted to accommodate private exam and x-ray areas, offer comfortable waiting rooms, and assure adequate parking …

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