Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Cleveland Clinic’s Upfront Payment Policy Inspires Backlash

When Cleveland Clinic announced a new policy beginning on June 1 that requires patients to pay their out-of-pocket copays when they arrive for their scheduled appointments, it created controversy for the high-profile nonprofit system. If a patient isn’t able to pay upon check-in for nonemergent appointments, it results in the appointment being cancelled. Urgent care is not included in the new policy, so patients visiting any of the Cleveland Clinic’s 42 centers will not need …

Kaiser Trying Out Virtual Urgent Care Visits

Urgent care is about to get even more accessible for members of Kaiser Permanente Northwest. The plan is offering phone or video visits with no copay for patients who don’t feel up to an in-person encounter in the urgent care center. Appointments to video chat with a provider can be made on the Kaiser website and conducted with any smartphone, laptop, or desktop computer that has a video camera. The providers will have access to members’ …