Practice Management
Visits to emergency rooms continue to go up as hospital admissions drop in southern California, suggesting that either many of those flocking to the ED don’t need to be there or patients who need beds aren’t getting them, according to a new series of articles published in the Whittier Daily News. Either way, it would seem wider, acuity-appropriate use of urgent care resources would reduce the volume while increasing efficiency of care. Another solution being …
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Membership fee-based medical practices are proving to be an attractive option for patients and families that are uninsured, according to an article just published in the Chicago Tribune. Such practices don’t take insurance at all, but charge their “members” a monthly fee for unlimited office visits, some related services, and discounts on medications and lab tests. At MedLogic, one practice cited in the article as an example, that fee is roughly $140 a month. Fees …
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Violations of the Health Insurance Accountability and Portability Act are serious business, but they may not be sufficient grounds to sue violators, absent other circumstances, according to a decision just reached by a federal judge. A plaintiff in Washington, DC had charged that LabCorp left her protected health information (PHI) in plain sight at a local hospital, where it could be viewed by others not authorized to see it. That has been accepted as fact …
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Patients who get nervous around clinicians, even to the point of having a fast heart rate or elevated blood pressure, are said to be experiencing “white coat anxiety.” Don’t let that fool you. A professional image, including those white coats (and scrubs, as well) goes a long way toward helping patients feel they’re going to get excellent care, according to a new study published in BMJ Open. More than half of the 4,000+ patients who …
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Urgent care, by nature, is a fast-paced practice setting; patients come to your practice because they don’t feel like they can wait to see a primary care provider, after all. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the pace can take its toll, especially on the clinical staff. Providers can reach the point of burnout if they’re not careful. Now, Practice Velocity has a few suggestions that might help, put forth in a blog …
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The emergency room presents bit of a paradox for many cancer patients, according to a new article published in the journal Oncology Nurse Advisor: A trip to the ED is risky for anyone with a compromised immune system—which would apply to many oncology patients—but at the same time cancer and related treatment can cause a seemingly endless list of complications that require immediate attention. “Visiting the ED is often a portal to hospitalization for these …
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Far too many prescriptions are being written for patients with acute respiratory infections, including influenza, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As many as 41% of antibiotic prescriptions for ARIs were deemed “inappropriate” by the CDC. In addition, despite published guidelines, vigorous public awareness campaigns, and missives to prescribers, nearly 30% of patients who tested positive for viral flu infection were prescribed antibiotics. The data, published in JAMA …
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Legislators in New Jersey have passed legislation aimed at increasing the transparency of health care prices, especially fees for services rendered by out-of-network providers. When it takes effect less than 90 days from now, healthcare facilities and providers will be required to give patients information on network status prior to delivering nonemergent or nonurgent care. That last stipulation is what should be of interest to urgent care operators: The law says care provided on an …
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Employers and insurers can expect to see a 6% increase in healthcare costs in 2019, according to the Medical Cost Trend report just released by PwC. If that’s the case, rest assured they won’t just be eating the cost, but passing the bump along to employees and plan members. Given that 12% of wages are presumed to go toward healthcare, all concerned parties will be looking to do more with less—which may make urgent care …
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting that the 2017-2018 flu season saw 172 children die from influenza—the most recent being just a week ago. It’s the deadliest flu season ever for children, a record made all the more tragic by the fact that 80% of the children who died were not vaccinated against the flu, according to the CDC. In addition to the flu being especially severe, it remained active in every …
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