Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Years After Being Accused, an Admission of Guilt—and a $12.5 Million Fine

One U.S.-based urgent care operator is paying a heavy price after pleading guilty to healthcare fraud and engaging in monetary transactions derived from unlawful activity. The company, which was first accused of inflating reimbursement rates by ordering unnecessary tests and systematically exaggerating the complexity of procedures several years ago, has now copped to the charges and has to pay a $12.5 million fine. That’s the amount the prosecution says equates to the bogus charges between …

Are You Prepared to Defend Yourself in Court? This Mock Trial Might Help You Figure It Out

You did everything you could to provide excellent, timely, ethical care for that patient with chest pain—to no avail. Now you’re being sued. Are you ready to defend yourself and your practice in court, with the entire enterprise riding on the outcome? JUCM Senior Clinical Editor Michael Weinstock, MD will preside over a virtual mock trial during the third annual Adena Thought Leaders Summit (ATLS) on Wednesday, September 9 from 10 am to 12:20 pm, Eastern. …

Can Urgent Care Be the Solution to Reduce COVID-19 Spread in High-Risk Environments?

The risks of heading off to work on site during the COVID-19 pandemic vary greatly according to the nature of the workplace. Healthcare workers know this all too well. As people start traveling more, though, airports are likely to be another high-risk environment. Dignity Health–GoHealth is addressing that risk by placing a testing center at San Francisco International Airport. They began a little over a month by testing airline flight crews and have now opened …

Alert: Deadline for Second Distribution of Provider Relief Fund is Coming Fast

Urgent care operators have an opportunity to secure more funding to fight the detrimental economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by way of the second round of distribution under the Provider Relief Fund. Note that this is separate from the Paycheck Protection Program. Rather, the PRF is intended to support “families, workers, and the heroic healthcare providers in the battle against the COVID-19 outbreak.” Providers who see Medicare patients should have received funds under the …

Alert: Patients with Less Severe COVID-19 Symptoms May Be a Significant Threat

Recently, we shared new data published in the Journal of Pediatrics indicating that nonsympomatic children are more than capable of infecting others with COVID-19. It turns out the same may be true in adults. A study published in The American Journal of Pathology reveals that nonhospitalized adults with less-severe symptoms of COVID-19 can actually have a higher SARS-CoV-2 viral load than hospitalized patients with more severe symptoms. The study population included 205 patients treated at a tertiary care …

Take Note: Even Emergency Rooms Are Turning to Telemedicine to Cope with the Pandemic

Adoption of telemedicine has been a controversial subject in urgent care. While some operators have seen its benefits by way of increasing access for patients—and, over the past few months, in reducing risk of COVID-19 transmission—others have expressed concern that patients may “self-diagnose” and demand prescriptions without the benefit of a full examination. Whichever camp you fall into, be aware that even emergency rooms are now experimenting with virtual care. Tenet Health Central Coast in …

Children Sick with Something Other than COVID-19 Require Special Care During the Pandemic

Your clinical team has had to adapt to a whole new way of administering care since the COVID-19 pandemic landed in the U.S.—and not just for patients with the virus. The highly infectious nature of the disease not only scared some patients into delaying care, but also forced urgent care operators (and all healtchcare professionals) to adapt the way they operate on a daily basis. It’s largely been a process of trial and error. Guidance …

Urgent Care Operators Are Evolving in Response to the Pandemic

According to data from Experity, urgent care as a whole has come roaring back from several bleak months at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. However, there are some dire predictions that we could all be in for a second wallop with children returning to school and flu season approaching. Some urgent care operators are taking a hard look at why they suffered so during the first wave—and are taking steps to …

Update: New Phase III Data Show 5 Days of Remdesivir May Improve COVID-19 Outcomes

We’ve cycled through any number of possible treatments for patients with COVID-19, some more likely to succeed than others. The latest regimen to show promise, according to an open-label, Phase III study just published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, is a 5-day course of remdesivir. The authors posit that it could significantly improve outcomes for patients with “moderate” COVID-19. The study’s population was 600 hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 and moderate COVID-19 pneumonia, …

Not Up to Speed on New Workplace Protections? Then Neither Are Your Occ Med Clients!

Virginia just joined a short list of states that are enacting legislation to help protect workers from exposure to COVID-19. Of course this is essential for all urgent care operators to know as employers, but the need is doubly great for those who offer occupational medicine services. In Virginia, some of the new rules fall in line with existing executive orders (such as requiring workers to wear a mask when adequate social distancing is impossible). …