Practice Management
I’m assuming you saw news stories last month with headlines like this: “Walmart and Other Drug Stores Want to Help You Skip Trips to the Doctor.” Walmart Health is set to open 28 new locations in the coming year. Consumers can get testing and treatment for strep, flu, and COVID-19 at a Walmart pharmacy in 12 states, at Walgreens in 13 states, and at CVS in 10 states. Rite Aid is working on it, too. …
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Urgent message: Make the distinction between viral and bacterial conjunctivitis to ensure children receive appropriate treatment and to avoid the negative consequences of antibiotic overuse. Julian P. Ponsetto MD, Momoko K. Ponsetto MD Citation: Ponsetto JP, Ponsetto MK. Differentiating acute conjunctivitis presentations in children. J Urgent Care Med. 2023;17(11):15-20. Infectious conjunctivitis or “pink eye” is common in the pediatric population, accounting for 2.7% of diagnoses in pediatric urgent care.1 However, it can be difficult to …
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Urgent Message: Headaches are common, but when patients present with concurrent psychiatric symptoms, seizures, and signs of increased intracranial pressure, clinical teams might consider asking about recent travel to assess for possible neurocysticercosis. Naail Tariq, Cavan Scheetz, Michael Weinstock, MD Citation: Tariq N, Scheetz C, Weinstock M. Headache and Paranoid Delusions: A Case Report of Missed Neurocysticercosis. J Urgent Care Med. 2023;17(X);31-34. Abstract Introduction Headache is a common urgent care complaint. While most headaches have …
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Urgent Message: Employer worksite clinics represent both a threat and an opportunity. Urgent care could lose some volume to no-cost care at work, but new business evolutions include partnering with local employers to develop onsite care models. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is President of Experity Consulting and Senior Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. Patients today have more options for where they receive care than ever before, which means more competition for …
Read MoreAcross the hills and valleys of healthcare, the rising power of the consumer has reshaped the landscape more than any other market shift in recent memory. Patient preferences are fueling demand for everything from virtual care to retail-store clinics. For urgent care, the innovations represent thrilling opportunity alongside equal measures of competition. The ratio of wins to losses will vary by market. Yet even with the large-scale disruption, urgent care has grown with intention, both …
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Urgent Message: An expanded list of differential diagnoses can help clinicians identify when isolated bleeding is related to a more serious condition, as was the situation with this case of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Download the article PDF: When a Bleeding Hemorrhoid Is a Sign of Something More Sinister Naushair Hussain, MD, Ahmad Ali, MD, Michael B. Weinstock, MD Citation: Hussain N, Ahmad A, Weinstock M. When a Bleeding Hemorrhoid Is a Sign of Something More …
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Which Sample is More Accurate for STIs: Vaginal or Urine? Take Home Point: Vaginal swabs are the optimal sample type for women being evaluated for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and/or trichomoniasis. Citation: Aaron K, Griner S, Footman A, et. al. Vaginal Swab vs Urine for Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas vaginalis: A Meta-Analysis Ann Fam Med. 2023 Mar-Apr;21(2):172-179. doi: 10.1370/afm.2942 Relevance: Many sexually transmitted infections (STI) are asymptomatic in women and can have serious …
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Phyllis Dobberstein, CPC, CPMA, CPCO, CEMC, CCC, is RCM Compliance Manager, Experity With the fall season comes all the coding changes for the year. This starts with the 2024 edition of the ICD-10-CM codes, which went into effect on October 1, 2023. As a reminder, there is no grace period. Changes are effective on dates of service as of October 1. Prior to this date, practices should continue to use the 2023 ICD-10-CM code set. This …
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Telehealth provider Sesame has inked a deal with retail giant Costco to deliver virtual primary care visits for $29, according to Bloomberg. Patients, who must be members of the retailer’s warehouse club, pay strictly out-of-pocket for the visits. Providers won’t require insurance credentialing either. The strategic brand extensions of major retailers like Costco and Walmart rely on their established consumer relationships and the fact that they’re already in the daily orbit of most families. Brand recognition …
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As a $4.1 trillion industry, healthcare has a history of attracting all sorts of nontraditional players. CLEAR, the private-market version of expedited airport security, is the latest to land in the space. The company hopes to leverage its passenger identity technology to create a universal patient identity system. By partnering with institutions such as the University of Miami Health and Wellstar Health, CLEAR aims to streamline information into a single, secure account. The big health …
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