Practice Management
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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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, …
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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). …
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The National Government Services office issued yet another alert from the Department of Health and Human Services. This one concerns a new wave of phishing emails purported to be from the Small Business Administration, seeking private information regarding loan activity. NGS reports that the bogus emails, which spoof SBA’s loan relief webpage, include a malicious link. You can read the list of protective measures NGS advocates here. Ensure your team is aware of this threat, …
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It’s been established that viral load and frequency of exposure to infected individuals increases one’s risk of contracting COVID-19. This puts urgent care providers and other healthcare professionals at increased risk compared with nonclinicians who are able to limit contacts. A new study published online by the Journal of the American Medical Association indicates that requiring patients to wear a mask offers significant protection to even those who are most likely to be exposed, supporting …
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