Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Telehealth Growth Highest in a Trio of Subsegments

As telehealth continues to take root as a viable way to administer care, especially for patients in rural areas, a few subsegments are seeing sharper growth than others. Codes for specialty telehealth (which includes inpatient and outpatient care, ED visits, and postacute care consults) for Medicare beneficiaries were applied 191,000 times in 2015, according to new data from Advisory Board. In addition, the volume of telebehavioral health services provided grew 16-fold between 2012 and 2013, …

UnitedHealthcare Plans Nix Code S9083 Global Fee Urgent Care Center in New Jersey

UnitedHealthcare Commercial in New Jersey and UnitedHealthcare Oxford of New Jersey will stop reimbursement of HCPC code S9083 as of January 1, 2018, according to a letter sent to providers. Instead, the plans are advising providers to “only report the evaluation and management and/or procedure code(s) that specifically describe the service(s) performed.” S9083, they say, is “informational” and relates to a type of reimbursement rather than a specific service. Charges billed for S9083 will be …

Ex-Employee Suspected of Stealing Opioids from California Urgent Care Center

An urgent care center in Atascadero, CA has been robbed of hundreds of Norco (acetaminophen and hydrocodone) capsules, with a market value of more than $10,000—and the prime suspect is a former employee, according to police there. The drugs disappeared over a 2-year period, with the perpetrator altering patient records so it appeared the center needed greater quantities than were ultimately stocked. No arrests have been made, to date, but local police are working with …

New Urgent Care Location Rolls into Richmond—Literally

If nothing else, DispatchHealth’s approach to providing urgent care takes the educated-guesswork out of selecting the right location. The company is preparing to start offering mobile urgent care in Richmond, VA later this month. The idea is to reach patients who may not have the means or mode of transportation to get to an office location. The two vehicles currently at the starting line will be driven by DispatchHealth physician assistants and nurse practitioners, accompanied …

New to the Area? Invite the Neighbors Over

Often, neighbors welcome people who’ve just moved into the neighborhood by dropping by with a basket of muffins or inviting them over for coffee. Castleview Hospital in Price, UT is turning that on its ear, though, by inviting residents living near its new urgent care center over for an open house. The family-friendly festivities will start right after a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, officially opening the site to the public. Staff will be on hand to meet …

Cigna Will Stop Covering OxyContin Prescriptions

Cigna has announced that it will no longer cover prescriptions for the opioid medication OxyContin, and is recommending that patients who take it confer with their doctors to find an alternate pain drug. Cigna will, however, cover the alternative opioid drug Xtampza ER. The company says the move is in line with its “focus on helping customers get the most value from their medications”—which in this case extends to “obtaining effective pain relief while also …

CDC Says Flu Vaccines Have ‘Plateaued’—so Start Promoting Its Benefits

Just the other day we shared data indicating that healthcare professionals are far less inclined to get a flu shot if their workplace doesn’t require it or offer the immunizations on site. Now comes word from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the whole country’s influenza vaccination rate has plateaued—leaving us all at higher risk for an outbreak. New figures from the CDC reveal that since the 2013-2014 season, the rate for adults …

Arrest Serves as a Reminder: Consider Running Candidates Through the Sex Offender Registry

A New Mexico physician assistant was arrested recently on charges he sexually abused a child repeatedly—years after being granted probation after being charged with enticement of a minor in Utah. He was denied a license in Utah for that reason in 2009, but was granted a PA license in New Mexico less than a year later. PAs are certified nationally, but licensed at the state level. JUCM published an original article on this very topic …

Want to Drive Flu Shot Compliance for Your Providers? Demand It!

Despite longstanding advice that people over the age of 6 months should be vaccinated against influenza, more than half of healthcare professionals (HCPs) opt out unless they’re required to get a shot by their employers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 75% of HCPs got a flu shot in preparation for the 2016-2017 flu season—but in clinics and other settings where vaccination was not “required, promoted, or offered on site,” …

CDC Calls for More Prevention Against a ‘Persistent Enemy’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling for a “renewed commitment from all players” to fight sharp increases in sexually transmitted diseases. In the past year alone, more than 2 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis were reported in the U.S. While 1.6 million of those cases were chlamydia, there were 470,000 cases of gonorrhea and nearly 28,000 cases of primary and secondary syphilis. Calling STDs “a growing threat,” the agency stressed …

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