Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

If You Test or Treat Uninsured Patients for COVID-19, Make Sure You Get Paid. Here’s How

The Department of Health and Human Services, under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and the Economic Security (CARES) Act, has launched a portal specifically designed to ensure healthcare providers who have tested or treated uninsured patients for COVID-19 are compensated for those services. Claims are reimbursed “generally at Medicare rates,” according to HHS. Claims related to care provided on or after February 4, 2020 can be submitted through the …

Another Clue in Predicting COVID-19 Progression—Based on Initial Testing

When it first became apparent there is a wide range in how severely patients are affected by COVID-19, there seemed little rhyme or reason, aside from existing clinical characteristics, as to why one patient fared worse than another—or how a patient’s likelihood of developing severe disease could be predicted. Now a study just published in Critical Care suggests that predicting disease progression can be aided by looking at sputum viral load. The research, out of …

New Data Highlight Most Common Characteristics, Comorbidities, and Outcomes in COVID-19 Patients

On the heels of JUCM’s study of chest x-rays in urgent care patients with COVID-19, the Journal of the American Medical Association just published an article that reveals the most common presenting characteristics, comorbidities, and outcomes of infected patients, based on 5,700 hospitalized patients in New York City, Westchester County, and Long Island, NY. The data show that 14% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients wound up in the ICU; 12% received invasive mechanical ventilation; 3% had …

It’s Time to Address the Disconnect Between the Public, the Media, and You

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 …

Think You Know All the Likely Symptoms of COVID-19? Think Again

We’ve become accustomed to the fact that outcomes projections, testing methods, and information about mode of SARS-CoV-2 infection change regularly. Add symptoms to the list of moving targets regarding COVID-19, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added several new ones based on growing data. In addition to fever, cough and shortness of breath, the CDC now says urgent care providers and other clinicians need to be vigilant for chills, repeated shaking with …

Finally, Solid Advice on Treating Patients with COVID-19 from NIH

In the absence of evidence-based guidelines, clinicians in urgent care and other settings have been relying largely on their own clinical experience in caring for patients with COVID-19. That’s about to change, though, as the National Institutes of Health has released guidelines drawn from published and preliminary data and the advice of a panel of physicians, statisticians, and public health experts. It’s important to note amid speculation that certain drugs and nondrug agents “could be” …

Is Urgent Care Flying Under the Radar as COVID-19 Testing Becomes More Accessible?

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 …

The CDC Warns the Current Pandemic Crisis May Be Just the Opening Act

Even as some states report that the much-discussed “curve” is actually starting to flatten, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns against perceiving that to mean the worst is over for the U.S. CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD suggested that a second wave could actually be worse than this one if it occurs in the fall, just as the next influenza season is getting started—which some health officials and researchers say is a distinct …

UCA Assesses How the Pandemic is Affecting Urgent Care Operations

We’ve heard anecdotally that some urgent care operations are experiencing serious shortfalls in patient volume, while others are “all hands on deck” in dealing with patients who have, or are concerned they have, COVID-19. To get a better handle on how the industry as a whole is faring, the Urgent Care Association started surveying members on a weekly basis. In the initial iteration, 82% of respondents reported that all their centers were open while 18% …

New CDC Guidance Lays Out Essential Safety Precautions for Critical Infrastructure Workers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a new advisory clarifying steps that should be taken to decrease risk of COVID-19 infection in critical infrastructure workers—while also reconfirming that those workers “be permitted to continue work following potential exposure to COVID-19, provided they remain asymptomatic and additional precautions are implemented to protect them and the community. Interim Guidance for Implementing Safety Practices for Critical Infrastructure Workers Who May Have Had Exposure to a …

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