Industry

The evolution of urgent care could be likened to a crusade. In the early days there were few believers, and those physicians who did dare to open up an urgent care center were derided as a “doc in a box.” Now, of course, venture capitalists and healthcare systems have verified the viability of the industry as a profit center. But some of the early skeptics have become some of the most vocal advocates of the …

As regular readers know, JUCM is unique in that it regularly publishes original, urgent care-specific research. Most (if not all) of that research has been conducted by urgent care providers and operators. Historically, however, urgent care has been all but invisible to mainstream medical researchers. There are indications that could be changing, however, as lately there have been several pieces of research conducted not by urgent care entities, but more traditional bodies that are using …

JUCM and JUCM News readers know that acuity degradation is a major concern in the urgent care industry. For a multitude of reasons, too many patients visiting urgent care centers are referred elsewhere when, on paper, they really should be able to receive care at the UC level. Now Experity Chief Operating Officer and regular JUCM contributor Monte Sandler has authored an article for HIT Consultant that proposes solutions. Increasing training opportunities for advanced-practice providers …

Google, Facebook, and maybe even Twitter and Instagram have become common avenues for urgent care operators to reach new patients online. Visits related to another app are exploding all of a sudden, however. According to an article published online by FIERCE Healthcare, bookings from the online provider search/appointment app Zocdoc have grown by 80%, month over month while the number of UCCs has grown almost 40% month over month. That reflects visits to more than …

New Jersey’s largest healthcare system just signed on to take part in the new Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport (ET3) pilot program being rolled out by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. As reported by New Jersey Business Magazine, patients in need of EMS services at Hackensack Meridian Health’s Hackensack University Medical Center and JFK University Medical Center will now have the option to be taken by EMS to urgent care instead of the …

Urgent care providers who have achieved doctorate-level degrees can only introduce themselves or be referred to as “Dr.” if they’ve earned MD or DO status, according to a new law just passed in Georgia. Predictably, groups like the American Society of Anesthesiologists applaud the move while the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, for one, objects, as reported by MedPage Today. The law mandates that specific licenses and or/degrees be specified on ID badges, in advertisements, …

JUCM News readers know that state and federal regulations adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic are being rescinded or are expiring in waves, with direct and indirect effects on urgent care. With May 11 marking the end of the official federal public health emergency, the Association of American Medical Colleges’ AAMC News reports that some 17 million people formerly covered via emergency Medicaid enrollment are now likely to lose that coverage, with approximately 6.8 million not …

Medical and mainstream media are again full of articles reporting on the urgent—and steadily growing—challenge of ensuring people experiencing a mental health crisis get care when they need it. Most recently, the Journal of the American Medical Association published research revealing that children and young adults, in particular, present to emergency room with mental health complaints in greater numbers than ever, including a steep increase in visits related to suicide. The article notes that while …

It’s been the contention of the urgent care industry for a long time that patients who do not have truly emergent complaints should not be in the emergency room, where they’re likely to face long waits and incur greater costs than they need to. For those patients, urgent care centers are the more sensible option. Data showing a link between the available of urgent care and reduced ED traffic were slow in coming, but over …