Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Telehealth Has Been Booming During the Pandemic—so Waivers Have Been Extended

Telehealth accounted for 5.6% of medical claims in October 2020—compared with 0.18% of claims in October 2019, according to FAIR Health’s Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker. Given that cases of COVID-19 are climbing again, it’s unlikely the volume of virtual visits and ensuing claims will go down anytime soon. Consequently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has extended COVID-19’s status as a public health emergency, and with it key waivers for telehealth until April …

In COVID-19-Induced Economic Peril? PPP Loans Are Back on the Table

Urgent care operators who missed the boat on the first round of Paycheck Protection Program loans from the Small Business Administration—or those who have already taken part and need additional help—take heed: the window for both the first and second draw is open again. As in the first leg of the program, loans are actually issued through particular banks, though the SBA has set up a lender match feature to help applicants connect with lenders. …

Update: New COVID-19 Variants Continue to Emerge—This Time in the U.S.

Whatever degree of comfort there might have been in knowing variants in the COVID-19 virus occurred far from U.S. shores has disappeared with the news that a new one has been identified in California. It was discovered, independently, by two research teams who were looking for indications that the British variant could have crossed “the pond.” While they did find a few such cases in a couple of southern California counties, the more important discovery …

Have We Really Dodged a Bullet in the Form of a ‘Twindemic’? (Correct Answer: Not Yet)

Fear was high that the arrival of flu season would compound the mass illness and mounting deaths associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. As we reach the midway point, however, influenza has hardly been a blip on the screen. According to the World Health Organization, this is likely due to precautions against the coronavirus also having a protective effect for flu. While COVID-19 deniers scoff at such things, it’s clear that most Americans are in fact …

Warn Patients: Post-Coronavirus Immunity May Last 5 Months—but Transmissibility Continues

Patients who recover from COVID-19 infection may be comforted by new data suggesting their antibodies could provide at least 5 months of protection from new infection. The Sarscov2 Immunity & Reinfection EvaluationN (SIREN) study indicates that recovered individuals have at least 83% protection from reinfection over that time period, if not longer. However, as noted in an article posted by Medscape, some of those patients may still be capable of transmitting the virus to people …

As the Pandemic Rages on, Watch for Signs of ‘Moral Injury’ Among the Staff

When the COVID-19 pandemic really started picking up steam in the U.S. last spring, the threat to healthcare workers’ emotional wellbeing was seen as being related to the rapid rise in cases and how quickly hospital systems became overloaded; on the urgent care front, there was some of that in urban areas but in other locales there was worry over job security as patient visits dropped. Now, however, the length of time we’ve all been …

Follow-Up: You May Have to Motivate Staff Who Decline the COVID-19 Vaccine

We warned you last week that trying to force hesitant staff members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine could be both ineffective and legally risky. That doesn’t mean you shouldn stop encouraging them to get the shot, however; after all, it’s for their own protection as well as that of their co-workers and patients. According to an article in The New York Times, some healthcare employers are offering cash, extra time off, and goods such as …

Remind Patients: COVID-19 Survivors Can Have Severe Lung Damage After Recovery

Even with a U.S. death toll in the hundreds of thousands, some people remain skeptical of vaccines, the value of social distancing, and the overall dangers of COVID-19. The CBS affiliate in Dallas ran a story recently that might make a dent, however. It quotes a trauma surgeon and assistant professor at Texas Tech University as saying that survivors are likely to have some degree of lung damage after recovering—with their x-rays sometimes worse than …

Be Prepared: Male Genitalia Injuries Are Among the ‘Collateral Damage’ Attributed to the Pandemic

Many “side effects” of the COVID-19 pandemic could have been anticipated due to the nature of the infection—eg, exacerbation of existing lung problems—or social distancing measures, such as an increase in depression and anxiety. Then again, others are likely unforeseen. The Canadian Urological Association Journal published an article detailing an increase in male genitalia injuries coinciding with a spike in COVID-19 cases. While there was no solid conclusion as to why this occurred, the authors …

Recent Hacks and Charges of Censorship Should Be a Wake-Up Call to Check Your Online Security

As 2020 was winding down, we all became aware of a widespread and highly alarming hack that has since been attributed to operators in Russia. While it does not appear to have been targeted at healthcare organizations, the fact that it happened at all should be a reminder of the potential risks you face with proprietary information, access to financial accounts, and HIPAA-protected patient information. Then there’s the whole issue of online censorship that has …

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