Practice Management
Telehealth has been celebrated for broadening access to healthcare for individuals who otherwise would go without, but also derided as an “environment” rich in risk for overprescribing, as well as a threat to the patient–provider relationship. What’s not in dispute is that many patients like it—and the situations in which they access telehealth may be surprising. According to research by KeyCare and as reported by Healthcare IT Today, 68% of patients “who needed urgent care …
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While the general public might think of the federal government’s action to try to contain the COVID-19 pandemic to be a single, monolithic Federal Health Emergency, the facts are much more nuanced, with an array of implications for urgent care (and every distinct healthcare setting). With the exception of certain states that are seeing increases, in general caseloads, hospitalizations, and deaths related to COVID are down in the United States and the government is starting …
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Urgent care providers and operators are probably too aware of how common burnout is among healthcare professionals, especially since the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s true, of course, and it is a serious, ongoing concern. However, an article just published by Time magazine points out that patients may also be experiencing their own variety of burnout associated with healthcare. One factor the piece notes—having to wait weeks to see a provider when the patient …
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Much of the U.S. is getting hammered with winter storms as of this writing, forcing some urgent care operators to decide whether it’s worth it (and safe) to conduct business as usual, close early, or not even open up for the day. Prevea Health in Wisconsin, for one, got ahead of the game by announcing in local media and its own platforms that they’d be closing all locations, including urgent care centers, from Wednesday afternoon …
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New data from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker show that healthcare facilities, in general, are filing for higher-complexity care than in years past—but that urgent care providers buck the trend by filing such claims at a lower rate than their counterparts in the emergency room and traditional physician practices. Looking at claims for outpatient visits between 2004 and 2021 from the Merative MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters database for nonelderly people, researchers determined that providers …
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Urgent care providers have been proficient in treating patients with influenza for a very long time. That’s not to say it’s ever been simple, of course, as the formulation for each season’s vaccine is an educated guess that leaves little time to assess how severe the caseload will be. COVID-19, of course, required a very steep learning curve across every practice setting—but, again, urgent care providers proved up to the task. That’s a good thing, …
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The end of February brings us one step closer to the close of flu season, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to get a break from mass numbers of patients presenting to emergency rooms and urgent care with signs of viral infection. This time it’s norovirus, however. According to an article published by Becker’s Hospital Review, there have been 25 outbreaks this year, compared with just 14 during the same period a year ago. In …
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There are countless ethical and legal reasons to ensure confidential patient data remain confidential. When private information becomes available to the general public, cyber terrorists or criminals, or prospective employers the consequences are grave for patients and damaging to the healthcare institution’s reputation. Now we’re getting a good sense of just how severe legal and monetary judgements can be for organizations found to have committed health data privacy violations. The Federal Trade Commission imposed a …
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It’s common (and understandable) for urgent care operators and providers to feel undercompensated by payers for the services they provide. The quality of care is excellent, typically, and the cost savings passed along to insurers every time a patient can avoid going to the emergency room is almost incalculable. And yet, those insurers impose policies that make it very difficult for reimbursements to match the presumed value of urgent care. Workplace efficiencies can only go …
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Lehigh Valley Health Network is the latest healthcare system to fall prey to Russian ransomware gangs, with the breach of patient records at one of its physician practices in Lackawanna County, PA. According to a report published by The Morning Call, a group called BlackCat gained access to patient radiologic imaging files and threatened to release them publicly unless Lehigh Valley paid an unnamed ransom. They refused and are working with cybersecurity specialists to tighten …
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