Practice Management
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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Vermont Urgent Care has made testing for and treating sexually transmitted diseases a clinical priority in its Los Angeles neighborhood—even offering to test qualified patients at no cost. That decision is paying off with acclaim in being called out as one of the top providers of herpes testing services in the LA metro area. It started as part of a concentrated effort to expand the operation’s sexual health services. That allowed its providers to both …
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The Urgent Care Association will launch its 2019 Accreditation & Best Practices Webinar Series with a look at best practices for lab protocols and radiology next Thursday, March 7, 1 to 2 pm (Central). Some webinars in the series will qualify for Certified Urgent Care Management Professional (CUCMP) credit. To date, UCA has the following webinars planned: March 7, 2019: Ancillary Compliance ─ Lab Protocols and Radiology Best Practices (1 credit toward CUCMP designation) April …
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Americans spend more time traveling to and waiting to be seen by a healthcare provider than any other single pursuit, including in the infamously inefficient motor vehicle department, according to a study just released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, that time amounts to an economic cost of roughly $89 billion dollars annually—and that’s not counting the time they spend in the exam room. Over the entire survey period (2006–2017), the sum approaches …
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Just this month, we shared data from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners indicating that the number of nurse practitioners has grown considerably over the past year, and is expected to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Many are likely to gravitate toward urgent care, given this industry’s own continued growth. We’re not the only ones to realize the overall trend for NPs, however. State legislatures from coast to coast are taking a …
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A lesson in reducing unnecessary prescriptions for antibiotics could be gleaned from a new study based in a large academic dental practice, of all places. It showed a 73% decrease in antibiotic prescribing vs baseline. The study population included 635 Medicaid members who sought urgent care for oral complaints at Illinois’ largest oral healthcare provider. Before the mandated intervention (patient and provider education and clinical guideline development), 8.5% of visits included a prescription for an …
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One of the challenges of assessing patients for concussion in the urgent care center is that, most often, the examining clinician has had no previous contact with a given patient; there’s no baseline to compare their current condition against. A new piece published in the Journal of the American Medical Association brings news of a new tool that diminishes the importance of a baseline for patient who may have sustained a concussion, however. EyeBox, approved …
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Picture a Medicare patient who needs to see a provider today. It’s not an emergency, but they can’t wait until next Monday, when their primary care doc can squeeze them in. The solution is easy: urgent care, right? The only wrinkle is, they don’t drive anymore. So, they call an ambulance whose only option is to deliver them to the ED even thought their complaint is nonemergent. They wait for hours as the cost mounts. …
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Millennials and “Gen Zers” are more likely than Baby Boomers and Gen Xers to shun traditional primary care offices in favor of urgent care and other walk-in options, according to a newly released report from Accenture. Lack of convenience and responsiveness are among top reasons cited. It’s not just an American phenomenon, either; the nearly 8,000 consumers who took part in the research chimed in not only from the U.S. but also from Australia, England, …
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One of the key attributes of urgent care is that the cost is lower than patients would face in the emergency room—which is a benefit not only for them, but for their insurers. Even so, the cost may be too high for some lower income patients, especially those who don’t have insurance or can come up with the copay. You may have a better option than either turning them away or eating the cost, however. …
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