Practice

JUCM and other medical industry publications have been aware of growing concerns over provider shortages for several years now. While the pandemic has done nothing to improve the prospect of maintaining a steady flow of new clinicians in the coming years, it has increased the risk of urgent care centers losing nonclinical staff leaving their current positions. Presumably some have left healthcare-related jobs, possibly wearied by the stress of being on the frontlines of a …

When details of the “test to treat” initiative first emerged, it appeared that urgent care would once again be left out in the cold, unable to test patients for COVID-19 and then provide an immediate prescription and treatment on site; as originally detailed, it appeared that right was going to be conferred mainly to pharmacies. Then, as JUCM News readers know, the Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response …

Residents of a sleepy Pittsburgh suburb were likely shocked last week to find the parking lot of a local business taken over by FBI vehicles—even more so when they discovered that the building, occupied by an urgent care center that had by all accounts been an indispensable community asset throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, was essentially taken over by agents. The doors were locked to keep patients out, and opened only long enough for agents to …

Urgent care operators know all too well that visits dropped precipitously at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as patients stayed home rather than risk exposure in the waiting room or from clinicians. By June of 2020, an article in Managed Healthcare Executive reminds us, around 41% of adults begged off visiting a healthcare provider. Whether valid or not, patient concern before the advent of vaccination and testing for COVID-19 was understandable. The greater concern, …

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American workplace has been undergone a rapid evolution. At first it was incumbent upon employers to find a way to maximize productivity when many employees were confined to their homes. Needless to say, that was a more viable option for some than others. Urgent care has been in an unusual position in that some team members can work virtually (administrators, telemedicine providers) while others really have to …

Offering COVID-19 testing services could engender good will and bring new patients to your practice—or it could lead to disappointment, lost opportunity, or even legal scrutiny. In New York, the attorney general has warned various entities who advertise a specific turnaround time on COVID-19 tests that they’d better make good on their promises or face stiff consequences. In the Midwest, federal health officials as well as investigators from several states are investigating the practices of …

The idea that having to deal with COVID-driven social restrictions, concerns about illness, and mask mandates could cause problems with the public’s mental health is no longer theoretical. An article just published by JAMA Network Open reveals that some individuals started to have struggles as early as spring of 2020, the earliest time period covered by the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Civic Life and Public Health Survey. Researchers assessed psychological distress in four waves: April 7–13, …

On the one hand, it makes sense that employers and school systems want to ensure that people who have been out due to COVID-19 are in the clear before they report back for work or classes. On the other hand, the fact that they’re requiring a clearance note from a physician before allowing them back in the door is proving to be a logistical nightmare for many practices. Multiple health systems and county health departments …

It took a relatively long time for urgent care centers to get their fair share of COVID-19 testing supplies and vaccines. Once they did, they became an essential contributor to fighting the pandemic. At least one urgent care operator found out the hard way just how easy it is to be thrown back into those dark days—and they’ve only got themselves to blame. The operator, which will remain nameless, found its test kits dwindling and …