Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

UCA Webinar: Tips on Employee Discipline and Termination

Conversations involving discipline—or, especially, termination—are uncomfortable for all parties involved. If you’re a manager or supervisor, though, rest assured they’re in your future (if they’re not already in your past). However, responding to poor performance or misconduct the right way can leave you feeling empowered and confident that you’re doing what you can to protect your workplace as well as other employees. Vance Daniels, senior human resources advisor for G&A Partners, will offer advice on …

What’s Next for the Affordable Care Act?

The Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”) has given millions of citizens access to healthcare they didn’t have before, driving up volume in some urgent care centers and emergency rooms. It’s also put sometimes unbearable pressure on insurers to find a way to stay profitable in the state-run exchanges; most that originally participated have bowed out because they were losing too much money, in fact. With the election of Donald Trump as our next president, …

Urgent Care Webinar Explores How to Engage Employees

Over half of workers in the United States are “not engaged” in their jobs, and another 17% are “actively disengaged,” according to a Gallup poll. In other words, only about three in every 10 employees are really on point at any given time in a workplace—including, possibly, your urgent care center. The data also show, however, that organizations that make an effort to foster employee engagement have happier, more satisfied employees. And it’s not because …

Urgent Care Pushes CMS to Adopt Patient Copays Instead of Coinsurance

The Urgent Care Association (UCA) sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in favor of lowering the copay patients would be responsible for when visiting an urgent care visit, effective in 2018. The changes would affect the cost-sharing structure for “standardized options” (ie, Simple Choice plans) that plan issuers offer in the individual insurance marketplace. Standardized options are intended to simplify the consumer plan selection process; each has a single …

Free Urgent Care Webinar: Prepare for Patients Presenting with CAP

Patients may have contracted pneumonia in another healthcare setting, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be walking through your door when symptoms hit them hard and fast. Worse, antibiotic resistance is a real threat in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP); in fact, recent studies have shown that resistance has more than doubled admissions to the ICU and increased complications by 51%. Are you prepared to identify CAP in your urgent care center—and to treat patients early so …

UCA Partners Up in Fighting Antibiotic Resistance

The Urgent Care Association (UCA) is partnering with George Washington University’s Antibiotic Resistance Action Center on an initiative to put the brakes on runaway antibiotic resistance. The goal of the 3-year plan is to develop and implement evidence-based practices aimed at preserving the effectiveness of the antibiotics we have available today, namely by promoting responsible use of antibiotics. The fact that urgent care centers see some 160 million patients annually make it the perfect setting …

Urgent Care’s Voice is Heard on Medicare Coding Changes

The Urgent Care Association (UCA) has officially filed comments with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), supporting a proposal to modify the “24/7” access requirements for providers who plan to bill Medicare for Chronic Care Management (CCM) codes. According to UCA, the new language will allow primary care providers “to more easily meet the CCM billing requirements if they contract with urgent care centers for their patient’s acute care needs, including evenings and …

UCA Commits to Antibiotic Stewardship

The Urgent Care Association (UCA) has outlined a framework by which it plans to guide urgent care centers to reduce inappropriate outpatient antibiotic, with an ultimate goal to curb the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. UCA’s statement notes that with urgent care clinicians treating some 160 million patients annually—many of whom think they may need an antibiotic—this setting is in a strong position to effect positive change. “UCA recognizes the vitally important role our clinicians …

Is Orthopedic Urgent Care Really Urgent Care?

As the urgent care industry moves forward, other specialties seek to get on board by establishing niche markets within the urgent care industry. Across the United States, subspecialty urgent care such as orthopedic urgent care, pediatric urgent care, and psychiatric urgent care, etc. are already trying to establishing themselves within the urgent care industry. As these facilities become more specialized and exclusive, the question must be asked: Are these subspecialty facilities urgent care—or just marketing …

Free Urgent Care Webinar: Even a First-Round Draft Pick is an Employee

Providers are the key personnel in any medical facility, and urgent care centers are no exception. To use a sports analogy, they’re the “superstars” of the team—which means they have to deliver if you’re going to have a winning record. However, as independent contractors, they can also put you on the losing side of Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service violations. Attorney and experienced compliance officer Kurt Tullar will explain how to stay in …

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