Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Why the Need for a Certificate of Need?

Despite progress in recognizing the need for cost-efficient, readily available care like that found in the urgent care setting—and data demonstrating that they don’t help mitigate healthcare costs anyway—certificates of need (CONs) continue to exist. Typically, states view urgent care centers as “physician offices” that would not be subject to a CON. As healthcare markets become more saturated (ie, competitive), however, there is growing concern that those threatened by the boom in urgent care could …

Concussion in the Urgent Care Center: From the Sideline to Your Bottom Line

URGENT MESSAGE: Increased awareness of concussion risks in organized sports creates an opportunity for urgent care centers to offer concussion education and treatment for student-athletes. James Nawalaniec is a first-year medical student at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. Concussions can be difficult to diagnose and easy to ignore, although they pose a very serious threat to brain health and function—especially if more than one concussion is sustained within a short period …

Your Nondiscrimination Statements Have to Be Posted by October 17

Urgent care operators—and all healthcare providers who receive federal funds (eg, reimbursement under government programs like Medicaid or plans that take part in the Affordable Care Act)—are required by federal law to post nondiscrimination notices in public view by October 17. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights says physicians must take “appropriate initial and continuing steps” to notify patients of certain information/services related to nondiscrimination. HHS has posted …

Balance Billing Takes a Hit in Tallahassee

The Florida legislature’s House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee has put its stamp of approval on a proposal to protect patients from surprise charges after discharge from the emergency room. As written, the bill would make insurers pay for emergency services and include an arbitration process to resolve differences between insurers and healthcare providers; patients themselves would be removed from that process. Several states have already enacted similar legislation, with still more—including Florida—moving toward doing the …

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