Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

More New Data Paint Rosy Picture of Urgent Care’s Future

Just a week ago, we shared data from TMR Research indicating that the urgent care industry would continue its upward trajectory for years to come. Now another report, this one from Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE), offers even more data corroborating those findings. Urgent Care Centers Market—Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2014–2020 analyzes the potential for growth in specific aspects of the urgent care industry, such as illness, injury, physical, …

Las Vegas Takes a New Approach to 911 Calls—Will Urgent Care Benefit?

Las Vegas is the latest municipality to recognize that not all 911 calls require response with a fully equipped ambulance and EMS crew. As part of a new pilot program by the Las Vegas Fire and Rescue Department, 911 operators are being trained to identify which calls really do require a full emergency response, and which could be transferred to a specially trained nurse who can guide the patient to the right level of care—including …

CDC Offers Guidance on Treating Patients Returning Home from Hurricane Areas

Urgent care centers in hurricane-affected areas have probably gotten into the habit of looking for sudden respiratory ailments and signs of illness related to consumption of tainted water or food. However, the vast numbers of relief workers and volunteers who flocked to help residents affected by the recent storms are now returning home, where providers may not have such issues at the top of their minds. Recognizing that, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention …

Nonemergent Trips to the ED Cost Tennessee Medicaid Nearly $88 Million This Year

Despite efforts to teach patients when they really need to go to the emergency room vs the urgent care center or other settings, TennCare reports that its members have continued to head straight to the ED for relatively minor complaints—to the tune of $87.9 million in fiscal year 2017. That’s an increase of $3 million over the previous year. Claims data released by the state show too many use the less convenient, costlier ED for …

WSJ: Hospitals Continue to ‘Follow the Patient’ to Urgent Care and Other Settings

As we’ve reported here, the evolving habits of patients who seek immediate, cost-efficient, quality care is forcing hospitals and health systems to reconsider their own approaches to patient engagement. Such is reconfirmed in a Wall Street Journal article that observes “as patients increasingly seek cheaper and more convenient care, some of the largest U.S. hospital operators are investing in surgery centers, emergency rooms, and urgent care clinics.” The article cites Tenet Healthcare Corp., Dignity Health, …

Telehealth Growth Highest in a Trio of Subsegments

As telehealth continues to take root as a viable way to administer care, especially for patients in rural areas, a few subsegments are seeing sharper growth than others. Codes for specialty telehealth (which includes inpatient and outpatient care, ED visits, and postacute care consults) for Medicare beneficiaries were applied 191,000 times in 2015, according to new data from Advisory Board. In addition, the volume of telebehavioral health services provided grew 16-fold between 2012 and 2013, …

Lessons Learned from Launching Telehealth Urgent Care Services

Colorado’s UCHealth had some idea what it was getting into when it launched its urgent care telehealth program last year—but as with all new ventures, things unforeseen and unimagined have provided ample opportunity to learn. Now the company is sharing some of those lessons in the form of 7 Riddles to Solve When Launching a Telehealth Urgent Care Service in an online article from mHealth Intelligence. The company acknowledges they’re not making money on telehealth …

Texas Medical Board Gets with the Program on Telemedicine

The Texas Medical Board has laid down new rules governing how telemedicine providers can treat patients in the state. Gone are stipulations that a provider must see a patient face-to-face before being able to treat them remotely. The Board’s decision on that point is in concert with a new state law passed in May. The medical board’s decision could pave the way for around 28 million Texans to gain access to virtual care, including 3 …

New ED Data Reflect Changing Perspectives on Immediate Care Needs

U.S. emergency rooms saw more patients than ever in 2014, but that doesn’t necessarily mean urgent care isn’t getting its message out. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that over 141 million people ran to the ED that year (compared with 130 million the previous year), but some top reasons tended to be complaints for which it would not be appropriate to visit an urgent care center—chest pain chief among …

North Carolina Urgent Care Center Focuses on Mental Health Complaints

Urgent care has made its mark by delivering good care to people on a walk-in basis. Those patients with sore throats, lacerations, and other complaints could have chosen to be treated in a primary care office, but realized their symptoms were such that waiting a few days was a miserable (or possibly dangerous) proposition. Some patients with mental health complaints find themselves in the same position—or worse, considering they might not already be aligned with …

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