Practice Management
An urgent care operator in Louisiana has found an original way to literally drive traffic for its flu shot program: For one day, it set up a drive-through flu shot station in the parking lot so patients could get their vaccination without even getting out of the car. The move added an extra layer of convenience above the core urgent care attribute of walk-in treatment and preventive care. Besides the obvious benefit of ensuring that …
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the White House are working together to foster more responsible use of antibiotics in all healthcare settings by promoting Get Smart About Antibiotics Week, November 14–20. The CDC estimates 2 million Americans become infected with an antibiotic-resistant germ every year, meaning illness that could previously have been treated with a standard antibiotic may land your patients in the hospital (or worse; 23,000 patients die every year from …
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More than half of Americans between 18 and 34 years of age say they don’t plan to get a flu shot this year, with cost being a key factor. Of the 2,080 adults surveyed by CityMD Urgent Care surveyed last month, 433 were “millennials”; only 48% of them said they plan to get a flu shot. Those who don’t plan to get one cited disbelief that the vaccination would keep them from getting the flu …
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A new survey seems to indicate that it may take a long time—or more resources than you might think—for patients to understand their options for virtual care. Two large health systems rolled out their plans to offer virtual care in Iowa more than a year ago, but most residents still don’t get it. That’s bad news for the plans, but it also means the intended goal of offering virtual care in the first place—namely, slowing …
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Estimates of the number of transgender people in the United States range from just 0.3% to 0.6% of the population. Still, that means up to 1.4 million patients across the country may identify as transgendered. Data show they experience a disproportionate rate of health complications, sometimes due to hesitance to seek care for fear of being discriminated against (or even refused treatment in extreme cases). Given this reluctance to establish primary healthcare relationships, urgent care …
Read MoreWe’ve told you here that urgent care-specific clinical trials will both raise the profile and perceived legitimacy of this setting and result in better patient care. Now there’s a new opportunity for urgent care operators to take part in those efforts. Urgent Care Clinical Trials, an investigative site network geared specifically for the urgent care industry, is recruiting urgent care partners in the Dallas and Fort Worth, TX areas to help conduct clinical trials and …
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It may seem early, but September is actually the ideal time to start promoting influenza immunization programs in your urgent care center. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all patients 6-months-old and above receive a flu shot by the end of October. In addition to traditional promotional channels like local advertising and social media, don’t forget the value of good old-fashioned human contact; let patients who come in for everyday complaints that …
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Urgent care operators that offer over-the-counter soaps marked as “antibacterial” in restrooms or other public areas should be aware that such products can no longer be marketed in the U.S., thanks to a new ruling by the Food and Drug Administration. Sharp-eyed (and certainly germaphobic) patients and other visitors to your urgent care center may take umbrage with signage or containers making claims that the soaps are antibacterial. The FDA made the decision after a …
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If parents bring in young children complaining of acute back pain, try taking a history that might be just a little more detailed than usual before ordering expensive images or referring. Actually, focusing on one specific question might reveal the answer: Did the onset of pain coincide with the start of the school year? If the answer is “yes,” ask for a detailed list of what goes into the child’s backpack every morning, and how …
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Recent headlines make the problem crystal clear—“For Each Hour of Clinical Time, Docs Spend 2 on Desk Work” from MedPage Today is a good example—but they don’t tell the whole story, at least where urgent care is concerned. The current hubbub stems from a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine that reveals physicians in ambulatory care settings spend almost 2 hours on clerical tasks for every single hour they spend with patients. Even in …
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