Practice Management
In spite of a decades-long history of providing excellent, economical walk-in care across the country, the urgent care industry has been largely overlooked as a reliable ally in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. First, urgent care centers were left out of the supply chain for testing supplies in the early months of the pandemic. Now it can seem like SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are being distributed to every possible recipient other than urgent care (and badly, at that, …
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As of this writing, there remains roughly $150 billion available through the Payroll Protection Program. With the March 31 application deadline for first- and second-time prospective borrowers now in sight, however, the window for obtaining support that might help you keep your business afloat is closing. Some of the community banks charged with facilitating loans are targeting niche customers within certain markets—which could work to your advantage—such as businesses with fewer than 20 employees. Obviously, …
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There seems to be confusion among the public as to how COVID-19 affects infected individuals. While headlines noting that the U.S. recently passed the half-million mark in related deaths are hard to ignore, too many people are under the impression that the virus leads to one of two wildly diverse outcomes: it’s either deadly or “no big deal.” That couldn’t be further from the truth, however, as new data published in JAMA Network Open indicate …
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Federal health agencies insisted in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic that a 14-day quarantine was prudent for anyone who had contact with an individual who tested positive for the virus. Local health agencies and school systems followed suit. Since then, the general belief has been that a shorter period is adequate, easing the pressure associated with disengaging from even distanced activities or hybrid learning. An article just published by JAMA Network supports the …
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When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hosted a National Forum on COVID-19 Vaccination this week (coinciding with news that the U.S. had passed the 500,000 mortality mark), speakers identified increasing the supply of vaccines; ensuring there are more vaccinators to administer the vaccine; and creating more places for people to get vaccinated as key steps toward widespread protection against the virus. While expressing the idea that retail pharmacies and federally qualified health centers …
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Given that many patients with COVID-19 are asymptomatic, the value of basic screenings has come under debate. However, your personal views on whether they’re necessary are irrelevant if your state or local health department has enacted policies requiring them. An urgent care operator learned this the hard way when the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited a center for not keeping a daily record of health screenings for people who visited—after being tipped off …
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It’s expected that patients are not at their best when they enter an urgent care center. Clearly they’re not feeling well in one way or another. That’s probably compounded by the fact that they couldn’t get in to see their “regular” doctor—and the overall stresses of having to be around other sick people in the midst of a deadly pandemic. Tempers may be short. You and your team can’t afford to respond in a like …
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Many Americans are fed up with social isolation, worrying about loved ones and themselves, wearing masks, and delays in rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. Some are getting desperate and scouring the internet for outside-the-box, readily available ways to supposedly shore up their immune systems and ward off the virus, or even to self-treat infection itself. Unfortunately, their efforts are in vain if an article just published by JAMA Network Open is any indication. Researchers conducted …
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These are tough times for urgent care. Many operators are still struggling to get back to some sense of a “normal” way of doing business and, likely, recovering from a serious shortfall in patient visits during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, this is no time to experience delays in getting paid on the essential services you provide to patients in need. And yet, if you’re not up to date on changes in …
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As the East Coast braces for its third snowstorm in less than 2 weeks, much of Texas is still struggling with very un-Texas-like cold temperatures and widespread power outages. Six people were killed and dozens were injured in a 133-car pileup on a slick highway near Fort Worth. An urgent care center in Fairfield, CT was featured on local media talking about a sharp rise in injuries due to people falling on icy walkways. These …
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