Practice Management
Physician assistants and nurse practitioners—or, collectively, advanced practice providers (APPs)—already play an integral role in urgent care medicine, and are taking on more and more responsibility in many settings. Lately, some states have started taking a closer look at how much physician oversight they really need, opting to give them more independence. As with most change in any walk of life, however, there’s another side to the coin. A new post on the HealthLeaders website …
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Urgent care veterans—and any patient whose been hit with a surprise bill—know that the cost of urgent care is far lower than the cost of a trip to a freestanding emergency room, even when the resultant diagnoses are the same. And yet, the vast majority of visits to freestanding EDs are related to nonemergent complaints that could be safely managed in an urgent care center at a fraction of the cost. UnitedHealthGroup just added more …
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When Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued a call for recommendations on how to lower the cost of healthcare in the United States, the Urgent Care Association put together a response packed with data on the relative merits of urgent care, both in terms of the quality of care and the dramatically lower cost compared with freestanding emergency rooms and hospital-based EDs. UCA suggested that a …
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Intermountain started trying to discourage drugseekers from preying on its urgent care centers years ago, before opioid abuse was recognized as the crisis it is today. It’s no surprise, then, that the company launched a successful internal campaign to lower the number of opioid prescriptions its providers issued. However, the 30% reduction they just announced is unsatisfactory in their own eyes, having set a goal of reducing them by 40%. So, the company has vowed …
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Whether they’re familiar with urgent care or not—and definitely if they’re not familiar with your urgent care operation—people may have a little anxiety about seeing a new medical facility move into their neighborhood. Yes, it’s always nice to have convenient access to healthcare, but how will traffic be affected? And exactly what type of patients are they going to attract, anyway? Making a good first impression will not only set minds at ease, but also …
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It’s a plain demographic fact that the segment of the U.S. population over the age of 65 is growing—and that it will continue to do so for years to come. It’s also been proven that seniors account for more healthcare spending than younger patients. In fact, they make up around 15% of the population right now, but contribute over 21% to healthcare costs. What’s more, seniors visit the emergency room more frequently and stay there …
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Just as the United States House of Representatives held hearings to explore ways to encourage more people to get vaccinated against measles—acknowledging that fear over mythical side effects makes a significant impact—a new study in Denmark provides further scientific proof that there is no link between vaccines and autism. The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, focused on 657,461 children, some of whom were unvaccinated per their parents’ wishes and some of whom …
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Urgent care providers are well trained, well educated, and well prepared to treat patients with a wide array of complaints. One of the challenges is, there are still a great many people who don’t know that. The same holds true for employers in your area, who also may not realize that many urgent care centers offer occupational medicine services. Advertising, marketing campaigns, cold calls, and signage are all good ways to try to reach them, …
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New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that after years of decline, the number of HIV infections in the United States has pleateaued. New infections have stabilized, prompting the CDC to issue a call “for immediate action” on the part of healthcare providers, regardless of setting, to be more proactive in preventing HIV. The CDC’s report, Ending the Epidemic: A Plan for America, breaks down its recommendations into four steps: Protect …
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Deaths due to accidental opioid overdoses have reached unprecedented heights. In fact, according to new data from the National Safety Council, the odds of dying of an accidental opioid overdose are greater than being killed in a car accident in the United States. The odds for death by accidental opioid overdose are now 1 in 96, compared with 1 in 103 for car accidents. Recognizing the risk even in advance of the troubling new data, …
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