Practice Management
The Texas Association of Business—the state’s chamber of commerce, essentially—is pushing lawmakers to come up with a bill that would allow more patients to use telemedicine. The TAB says the move is necessary after a decade of rising healthcare premiums and deductibles, which has increased the burden both on its members and their employees. Loosening restrictions on telemedicine has seen opposition from the physician-led Texas Medical Board, whose efforts have seen to it that the …
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The newly released Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) ensures that service members and their families will be able to visit urgent cares when necessary without prior authorization—access that would not have been covered under the NDAA, historically. The 2017 rules state that military medical treatment facilities must provide urgent care services for members of armed forces and covered beneficiaries until 11 PM daily; in areas where there are no such facilities, however, …
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Data from the National Health Survey show healthcare considered routine by today’s standards is simply inaccessible for some 20.3 million children, in spite of the fact that the number of uninsured children has plummeted by nearly two thirds in the past decades (from 10 million uninsured in 1997 to 3.3 million in 2015). This is most evident in preventive medicine (including immunizations), management of acute and chronic medical conditions, and timely access to subspecialists, according …
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Patients looking for immediate care often turn to Google to find it—and over the past 4 years, they’ve typed in “urgent care” before hitting Enter more than ever. Google Trends, which tracks search data, reports that Arizona leads the nation in searches for “urgent care,” with North Dakota having the fewest searches. At the same time, Google Trends reports that searches for the word “hospital” have been in decline for several years. Rising healthcare costs, …
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Marijuana is now legal in 28 states in one form or another, but that doesn’t mean employers are obliged to soften their stance on employees’ use. How this could affect urgent care centers that offer drug screenings as part of their occupational medicine services is unclear—as is the ability of employers to bar employees from partaking. Some legal experts have asserted that companies could put themselves at risk if they fire employees for a positive …
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Just days after the World Health Organization declared Zika virus is no longer a “global emergency,” a new case that appears to have been transmitted locally was reported in Texas—marking the first time such a domestic case has occurred outside of Florida. More than 250 people in Texas have been infected previously, but all those cases could be traced back to travel in a region where the virus is prevalent, or having sexual relations with …
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Patients being treated for cancer have medical needs that extend far beyond their most critical diagnosis—more than a few of which are a result of their treatment. Johns Hopkins Hospital is offering them a place to go besides the emergency room when they’re suffering with pain, fever, nausea, or anything else for which they need immediate care, by creating an urgent care center specifically for them. Besides the long waits and generalized care they can …
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A new U.S. Department of Labor rule that would have led to an enormous leap in the number of workers eligible for overtime pay in the United States has been stopped—at least for the time being—by an injunction issued in federal court. Currently, employees who make less than $23,660 annually get time-and-a-half pay if they work more than 40 hours in a week; the new standard would more than double the threshold, to $47,476. That …
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to stress that immunization—plus everyday hygiene—is the best way to avoid potentially deadly flu. Urgent care providers are in an especially good position to try to influence patients, as anyone feeling bad enough to seek immediate care may be susceptible to suggestions on how to avoid feeling even worse down the road. The CDC recommends six steps providers can take to encourage even reluctant patients to …
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Uber drivers and their families in the Portland, OR area stand to benefit from a new partnership among the on-demand car service company, Legacy Health, and GoHealth Urgent Care. Their arrangement marks a step forward in the way “gig economy” companies can arrange access to care for on-demand workforces. Services available to drivers and their families include $0 out-of-pocket flu shots, sports physicals, and free wellness classes. The program also offers diabetes and heart health …
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