Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

More Providers Billing For Patient Text Messages

According to a JAMA study, providers are increasingly billing patient-initiated text messages as “telemedicine.” Not to be confused with synchronous video visits, more than 100,000 such text-message charges were billed per month in 2022, and monthly volume increased 40% from Q4 of 2021 to Q4 of 2022. That’s the same comparison period in which urgent care visits were down significantly as the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged. Top UC diagnoses: “What really stands out are the top …

High Cost of Care Elsewhere May Be Nudging ACA Patients to Urgent Care

Patients whose health is insured under marketplaces created via the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka “Obamacare”) have become acutely cost conscious when it comes to their own care—to the extent that they may not be getting the care they need, according to a new survey. While that paints a picture of a dysfunctional system, urgent care may be reaping some rewards as patients seek out quality care that won’t cost them as much as a …

Patients Don’t Associate Higher Cost with Better Care

Apparently, patients don’t see a need to pay Cadillac prices for the “Cadillac” of healthcare services (wherever they may exist). Most participants in a new report published in Health Affairs don’t associate higher cost with higher quality when it comes to making healthcare decisions—a departure from the expected consumer mindset when it comes to buying other goods and services. Among the questions included in the survey: “Would you say higher prices are typically a sign …