Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

ACP: Physicians Are Not ‘Providers’

A new position paper in the Annals of Internal Medicine this month examines the impact on professional and ethical perceptions when the word “provider” is used to describe physicians. The American College of Physicians’ (ACP) Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee, which developed the paper, says that physicians should always be identified as “physicians,” and overall, more specific terminology should replace the word “provider.” Likewise, nonphysicians who deliver care should be called “healthcare professionals” or …

Ranks of Physician Assistants Grow Within Urgent Care

The proportion of physician assistants (PAs) who are working in urgent care increased by 0.5% nationally from 2020 to 2024, according to the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants’ (NCCPA) 2024 annual statistical profile of PAs. About 5.6% of all certified PAs work in an urgent care setting. Only hospitals (42.3%) and office-based private practices (36.4%) show a larger proportion of PAs. Hawaii gained the most urgent care PAs from 2020 to 2024 with …

Kroger Shutters Store Clinics, Perhaps Looking Toward Future Pharmacist Models

Effective April 2026, the Kroger Co. will be closing 18 The Little Clinic in-store locations in the state of Georgia and at least 1 in Ohio. The company has not given any details behind the decision. There’s reason to believe the company may be banking on the possibility of a new model in the market, in which pharmacists would have expanded scope of practice to recommend treatment and prescribe medications. Such a model is now …

Covenant Deal Expands Nonprofit’s Urgent Care Portfolio

Covenant Health announced this month that it has acquired 2 Lakeway Urgent Care locations in Lenoir City and the Greater Knoxville, Tennessee, area. With the transaction, the nonprofit now has a total of 9 urgent care locations across the state. By way of history, in August 2023, Covenant Health Urgent Care launched as a joint venture between Covenant Health and Urgent Care Group, which then expanded by acquiring ParkMed Urgent Care. By late last year, …

UCCOP, CUCM Speak Out Against ‘Urgent Care Kits’

In a new statement, the Urgent Care College of Physicians (UCCOP) and the College of Urgent Care Medicine (CUCM) make a strong stand against the development, distribution and promotion of what are being marketed online as “urgent care kits.” The kits typically include antibiotics, steroids, or other prescription medications packaged for unsupervised use by consumers at home. They are often advertised as a way for families to be prepared for “life’s unexpected moments,” which suggests …

Health Systems Ask For Clarity To Deter Violence Against ED Workers

Several healthcare organizations have asked the Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in a letter to provide specific written guidance on appropriate emergency department (ED) signage that would notify patients of programs or policies regarding violence against healthcare workers. In previous interactions, the organizations say CMS discouraged this type of signage if the signs “could deter individuals from remaining for medical screening examinations and stabilizing treatment.” However, CMS didn’t clarify what type of sign …

Triage Systems Work Well To Direct Patients to UC Rather Than ED

A narrative review of literature exploring patient triage found that structured, evidence-based systems that differentiate between emergency departments (EDs), urgent care (UC), and primary care can be useful in scaling down the inappropriate use of EDs. Published in Cureus, the editorial concluded that the specificity of triage systems in terms of identifying true ED cases ranges from 85-95%. Additionally, the author found several features of UC visits that were superior to comparable ED metrics. Urgent …

U.S. Healthcare Spending Climbs Past $5T Mark

The United States now spends $15,474 per person on healthcare for a total of $5.3 trillion in spending overall in 2024, according new federal data reported by Health Affairs. For 2 years in a row, health spending increases have topped 7% (7.4% in 2023; 7.2% in 2024). Increased demand for care and higher intensity of services are the main drivers of growth, according to the analysis. Year Total Expenditures (trillions) Expenditures Per Capita 2018 $3.6 …

Banner Health Shifts to All Cashless Payment

This month, Banner Health is moving to a cashless payment system as a cost-savings measure, according to a press release. The nonprofit system has rolled out the cashless model across Arizona and will phase in the policy across other locations (California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming ) in the coming months with a target date to complete the transition by March 2026. Cash collection creates administrative costs that represent more than a third of the …

Accurate AI Coding Boosted Reimbursement Among Highmark Providers

Highmark Health is finding that artificial intelligence (AI) can influence reimbursement, according to Modern Healthcare. The integrated system’s insurance unit posted an operating loss that was tied to higher utilization as well as an increase in coding accuracy coming from providers in their claim submissions. Thanks to AI, providers are more likely to submit cleaner claims that better reflect the reality of clinical care and patient acuity—which also may incur higher reimbursement. It’s not fraud, …

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