Practice Management
A brouhaha in the St. Louis area should serve as a reminder (to operators, clinicians, and staff) that posts to social media platforms are subject to the same standards of fair comment as statements made in the media or anywhere in public. Saying something perceived as inflammatory or wrongfully derogatory about a local urgent care operator on Facebook, in this case, landed the chair of a local emergency department in court. The issue arose when …
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Five Star Urgent Care, which currently operates 17 urgent care locations, is opening 18 more in New York and Ohio after already converting an existing primary practice to an urgent care center. The company is ironing out leases for the rest, and expects to complete the growth spurt by late 2018. The company has found the areas in which the new centers will be located to be underserved by healthcare providers in general. The move …
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We told you in August about a hepatitis A outbreak that killed eight people in San Diego County, CA. The worse news is that hep A continues to spread throughout California—and could continue to do so for years to come, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions. At least 569 people have been infected, including 17 who have died, since last November in San Diego, Santa Cruz, and Los Angeles counties. They’re among …
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Walgreens, which has established a presence in the retail clinic market by outsourcing most such operations in its stores to third parties, is upping the ante on direct patient care with plans to open higher-acuity walk-in clinics in Las Vegas this year. More on the order of an urgent care center, including the capability to provide x-rays and offer stitches, the four locations will be operated by MedExpress and connected to existing Walgreens drugstores, but …
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As telehealth continues to take root as a viable way to administer care, especially for patients in rural areas, a few subsegments are seeing sharper growth than others. Codes for specialty telehealth (which includes inpatient and outpatient care, ED visits, and postacute care consults) for Medicare beneficiaries were applied 191,000 times in 2015, according to new data from Advisory Board. In addition, the volume of telebehavioral health services provided grew 16-fold between 2012 and 2013, …
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An urgent care center in Atascadero, CA has been robbed of hundreds of Norco (acetaminophen and hydrocodone) capsules, with a market value of more than $10,000—and the prime suspect is a former employee, according to police there. The drugs disappeared over a 2-year period, with the perpetrator altering patient records so it appeared the center needed greater quantities than were ultimately stocked. No arrests have been made, to date, but local police are working with …
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Urgent message: Despite most employees’ abhorrence to meetings, they indeed serve a valuable organizational purpose. The key is to keep them short, focused, free of distractions, and actionable. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Practice Velocity, LLC and Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. The next time you find yourself bored and distracted in yet another meeting, take solace in the fact that you’re not …
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Often, neighbors welcome people who’ve just moved into the neighborhood by dropping by with a basket of muffins or inviting them over for coffee. Castleview Hospital in Price, UT is turning that on its ear, though, by inviting residents living near its new urgent care center over for an open house. The family-friendly festivities will start right after a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, officially opening the site to the public. Staff will be on hand to meet …
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A New Mexico physician assistant was arrested recently on charges he sexually abused a child repeatedly—years after being granted probation after being charged with enticement of a minor in Utah. He was denied a license in Utah for that reason in 2009, but was granted a PA license in New Mexico less than a year later. PAs are certified nationally, but licensed at the state level. JUCM published an original article on this very topic …
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Urgent care operators who offer occupational medicine services should be aware that new guidelines for federal workplaces include mandatory screening for four relatively common opioid pain medications. As of October 1, employee drug tests must include screens for oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) says this will mainly affect some 400,000 federal employees with public health, public safety, and national security responsibilities. Positive results that are not …
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