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Zoom+Care has carved out an identity for itself as a tech-savvy provider of urgent care services on a regional level in the Pacific Northwest. According to a report posted on Geekwire.com, however, the company says it’s going to devote more energy into offering virtual medicine services—to the extent that they think they reach nearly 8 million more patients in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. There are also plans to open additional brick-and-mortar facilities in both …

There have been murmurs about operators launching behavioral health urgent care centers for years now, but the movement has not really gotten a foothold. There are signs that could be changing, however. Sisters of St. Mary, a major health system in the St. Louis area, has opened one such facility at DePaul Hospital while Los Angeles County, CA is finishing up construction of its own Mental Health Urgent Care Center. Local media coverage of both …

Retailers have learned that just because something isn’t of interest to consumers 12 months a year doesn’t mean a venture can’t be highly lucrative. Think about the “pop-up” shops that appear seemingly out of nowhere every Halloween and winter holiday season. Carbon Health appears to be hoping that same strategy can work for urgent care, as the company announced the launch of 100 COVID-19 pop-up testing centers in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, …

JUCM News readers may recall that Walgreens established a partnership with VillageMD to open primary care clinics in connection with Walgreens locations around the country. The company is moving ahead in a big way now, announcing plans to open between 500 and 700 such clinics over the next 5 years. Besides putting pharmacists and primary care providers in the same location, Walgreens says it will also offer telehealth services and at-home visits under the partnership’s …

Most urgent care centers across the U.S. have taken a beating since social distancing recommendations and lockdown orders took hold. Patient visits fell sharply as patients who would typically come in for relatively minor complaints decided leaving home wasn’t worth the perceived risk. Finally, as parts of the country start to ease restrictions, data tracked by Experity show the industry is bouncing back strongly. Perhaps the most encouraging statistic is the difference in 7-day average …

The U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services chose a handful of chain drugstores, and even grocery stores, to participate in community-based COVID-19 testing programs. No urgent care businesses. Mainstream media reports have carried misleading headlines suggesting that urgent care is “the last place you want to be right now” (one actually said that verbatim). That wrongheaded thinking is contributing to a sharp downturn in patient visits in some locations, unfortunately. The presumption is that …

As large, national retail chains announce they’re ready to test anyone concerned they could have been exposed to COVID-19, a glaring question arises: Why is there no mention of urgent care? One reason is that drive-up testing centers, often staged in the store’s parking lot, are supported by the federal government and state health departments and offer testing at no cost to the customer. Lacking that funding, an urgent care operator would be hard pressed …

It seems paradoxical at first thought, but one of the unforeseen consequences of the COVID-19 crisis is that some healthcare providers—certainly high on the list of “essential workers”—may see their jobs adversely affected by the pandemic. As noted in a post on Inside Sources, emergency rooms are emptying out as hospitals reroute patients presenting with symptoms or even concerns related to the virus to other areas of the hospital. Many other patients are opting not …

The “normal” way of doing things is no longer possible for urgent care operators during the COVID-19 crisis. Many around the country are looking at ways they can continue to serve their communities and keep their workers engaged while others are opting to close or consolidate locations. Prevea Health in the Green Bay, WI area, for example, is letting the community know that one of its locations is now dedicated exclusively to patients with upper …

Hospitals in some U.S. cities are getting slammed with COVID-19 patients, leaving some patients to consider what their best option might be when they need immediate care. Many know urgent care is the best bet. Before the term COVID-19 even existed, however, operators of freestanding emergency rooms touted their own ability to see patients with a broad array of injuries and illnesses faster than would be likely in conventional emergency rooms. It’s a claim that …