Practice

Ride-sharing pioneer Uber is putting more resources into serving as a healthcare transport provider, recognizing that traditional taxi companies tend to put little effort into picking up patients who they fear could be high maintenance and low tippers. According to a new post on the website Advisory Board, Uber just hired a pair of experts to help them beef up their efforts in this area—one a healthcare consultant and the other a veteran of competitor …

Advances in telehealth have often been presumed to provide greater access to healthcare for patients in rural communities that may be underserved by healthcare providers. However, a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates that virtual healthcare visits are actually more popular with residents of urban areas. USDA researchers looked at data from 50,000 households that were home to more than 130,000 individuals who participated in the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 Current Population …

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days of the year for urgent care centers that are open, at least at the New York metropolitan area’s CityMD locations. Whether it’s people trying to show off with a carving flair that exceeds their skill level (cutting more than the turkey in the process), scarfing down an undercooked bird, or getting splattered with oil from a fryer, many end the day worse off than they were in the …

Treatment and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases may be the particular expertise of clinicians who staff sexual health clinics—but that doesn’t mean those responsibilities are their exclusive domain. Primary care and urgent care will need to step up their game if the current upswing in many STDs is to be turned around, as noted in a recent article from Kaiser Health News. Screening and treatment are both well within the expertise of urgent care providers. …

The largest generational segment in the United States today—the 83 million “Millennials” born between 1981 and 1996—are demonstrating a preference for the convenience of walk-in care facilities compared with an ongoing relationship with a traditional primary care office-based physician, according to new data released by the Kaiser Family Foundation. It’s not just the convenience, though; speed of service, price transparency, and connectivity were also mentioned as key attributes that appealed to them. Of all the …

Nearly half of the 3,500-plus emergency physicians who took part in a survey commissioned by the  American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) say they’ve been physically assaulted at work. Most deny being injured or needing to take time off as a result. Hitting/slapping, spitting, punching, kicking, scratching, and biting were all considered to be physical assault. The numbers are even worse when you consider nonphysical assaults or harassment; 96% of female physicians and 80% of …

As we first told you weeks ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that everyone who should be vaccinated against influenza—which would include all Americans over the age of 6 months, unless they have a contraindication—do so by the end of October. The CDC says the flu will strike early this year, but as always there are more naysayers among the public than there should be. Some people just don’t think it …

Maybe all the headlines about how bad the 2017–2018 flu season was will end up having a bright side. According to a just-released survey from urgent care chain CityMD, 57% of Americans say they’ll get a flu shot this year, compared with only 51% who did so in 2016. While that reflects patients in all age groups, the best news might be that those 65 years of age and older make up the largest segment …

Physicians may be quick to admit certain symptoms of burnout—stress, decreased productivity, diminishing compassion—but are loath to consider they’re actually burned out. Call it denial or professional pride, but in truth they might be correct. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem that needs to be addressed immediately, however; a recent post on the healthcare website Stat notes an increase in “moral injury,” which is often misidentified as burnout. It’s actually akin to post-traumatic stress …

A Maryland urgent care center is feeling the sting of negative news coverage, not to mention possible loss of patients and its reputation, after a woman says her daughter was denied care because of her race—by staff members who say they thought they were following company policy. The white mother brought her adopted black daughter in to the clinic after the girl jammed her finger. Based on the racial difference, the person at the front …