Practice Management
If you think of the front desk as nothing more than the first point of contact for patients venturing to be treated in your urgent care, you may be missing a great opportunity. It’s also the hub where patient relations, reimbursement, collections, and more meet; give it short shrift at your own risk. On the other hand, your front desk managers, administrators, and practice managers can learn more about how to maximize its value in …
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The Urgent Care Association has launched a public-facing campaign to get consumers to head to their local urgent care center to ward off influenza, now that the season has officially begun. In addition to stressing that the urgent care center is “the best place to receive flu vaccinations and other key winter healthcare services,” UCA’s message also focuses on herd immunity—the notion that higher immunization rates will result in lower incidence of illness across the …
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Efforts to stem runaway abuse of opioids—and the resultant increases in addiction and deaths—are firing on all cylinders from the White House to the state house. On a more local level, failing to get on board with current regulations can land you in hot water with the DEA. The Urgent Care Association has asked Ronald Chapman, II, an attorney well versed on the subject, to provide a brief primer on DEA compliance with topics that …
Read MoreThe Urgent Care Association vowed to represent the industry’s interests when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rule implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) last October. In effect, CMS imposed guidelines for clinicians participating in Medicare’s Quality Payment Program (QPP), and defined two possible pathways: the Merit-Based Payment Incentive Program (MIPS) or the Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs). UCA made good on its promise this week by …
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A contingent from the Urgent Care Association (UCA) descended on Congressional offices to school lawmakers and their staffs on the important role urgent care plays in the healthcare continuum. Coinciding with the UCA Urgent Care Convention & Expo at nearby National Harbor, the visit put 15 UCA representatives face-to-face with 75 congressional staffers, including those who work on committees with jurisdiction over Medicaid and veteran’s healthcare. In addition to giving lawmakers a better idea of …
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The Urgent Care Association of Michigan, working with the Urgent Care Association and the College of Urgent Care Medicine, is laying the groundwork for its regional conference, scheduled to take place July 17 and 18 at The Henry Hotel in Dearborn, MI. Built around the theme of Drive Change!, the conference will feature 30 sessions broken into four tracks (Midwest Clinician, UC Management, Clinical Support & Super MA, and Hands-on Lab). Content is designed for …
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If you noticed a lot of stories in the local newspaper and TV news reports trying to spell out the difference between the emergency room and urgent care—and when one should go to one or the other—in the last year, thank the Urgent Care Association. Or, better yet, congratulation them on winning awards for their Urgency or Emergency? campaign. The campaign, led by the PR firm of L.C. Williams & Associates, won “best of the …
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Urgent care and occupational medicine seem to go together naturally—small wonder, then, that 91% of urgent care centers offer some form of occupational medicine services, according to a mini survey from the Urgent Care Association. It’s profitable, too; of the centers that do have occ med, over half said it accounts for up to 15% of their business. Part of that success lies in offering quality services at a reasonable price, but you still have …
Read MorePamela Sullivan, MD, MBA, FACP, PT was officially introduced as the newly elected president of the Urgent Care Association’s Board of Directors during the 2017 Urgent Care Convention & Expo, held this week in National Harbor, MD. Sullivan takes over from Steve Sellars, MBA, who served as president for the 2016–2017 term. In accepting the position, she stressed the necessity to help patients understand “their evolving healthcare options, while innovating new business models and processes …
Read MoreHaving declared May to be Urgent Care Awareness Month, the Urgent Care Association has some ideas you can implement to highlight the value your urgent care center brings to the community. Benchmark Urgent & Family Care in Austin, TX, for one, is inviting its neighbors to come in for free blood pressure and blood sugar checks—a low-cost assessment for the operator that could have a high return once patients who’ve never visited before see the …
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