Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Clinica Mi Pueblo—Shedding Light on Urgent Care Solutions for America’s Uninsured Latino Population

URGENT MESSAGE: America’s undocumented immigrant population—those who are ineligible for Medicaid, Medicare, or private insurance via a state or federal exchange—are increasingly served by storefront “bodega clinics” that offer a range of services on a walk-in, cash-pay basis. While these “clinicas” provide much-needed access to the communities they serve, there are also concerns about the quality and oversight of their operations. Nonetheless, they could also teach many urgent care centers a thing or two about …

Beware of Urgent Care Contract Clauses on Offshore Vendors, Other Issues

URGENT MESSAGE: As payers introduce new clauses into urgent care-specific contracts, urgent care operators need to be vigilant to how several changes may affect their day-to-day operations. Kelly Mattingly is Director of Contracting & Credentialing at Practice Velocity, LLC, and a contracting and credentialing consultant with Urgent Care Consultants. With each new clause, provider contracts offered by payers become more complex, adding a host of burdens to the day-to-day operations of the urgent care center—eg, …

Coding for Common Integumentary Procedures in the Urgent Care

URGENT MESSAGE: Laceration repairs and abscess drainage are two of the most commonly performed procedures in urgent care. Correct coding entails understanding what components are bundled with the surgical procedure, documentation of the diagnosis, location and size of the laceration or abscess, and the surgical technique utilized. Sarah Todt, RN, CPC, CEDC, CPMA is Director of Provider Education at LogixHealth. Deborah A. Wilson, RN, CPC, CEDC is Associate Director of Provider Education at LogixHealth. Care …

Medical Marijuana: An Urgent Care Issue?

URGENT MESSAGE: Public attitudes on the use of marijuana have undergone a sea change over the last two decades, with laws regarding the use of marijuana for medical purposes and in limited cases the recreational use of the drug becoming more liberal. Legalized cannibis presents unique challenges that could impact urgent care and occupational medicine providers when it comes to delivery of patient care and human resources considerations. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Vice …

Looking for a Few Good People? Host a Job Fair

URGENT MESSAGE: Job fairs can be an efficient and cost-effective method of finding suitable employees to fill open positions in urgent care centers. With diligent planning, a job fair can save valuable time by speeding up the interview process and can bring talented and qualified applicants right to your door. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Practice Velocity, LLC and Practice Management Editor of JUCM — The Journal of …

Is America’s Uninsured Problem Being Replaced by America’s Underinsured Problem?

URGENT MESSAGE: Although the Affordable Care Act has made some progress in reducing the number of Americans without any health insurance, many of the newly insured are still unable to afford routine healthcare due to plan designs that include high deductibles, copays and coinsurance. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Practice Management Editor of JUCM—The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Urgent Care Association of America, …

Portland’s Zoom+: An Integrated Health System Built on Urgent Care

URGENT MESSAGE: Zoom+, which operates 28 walk-in clinics in the Pacific Northwest, has long been a technological innovator, launching web registration, scheduling, and telemedicine in its markets. In the past year, ZoomCare has evolved further to create Zoom+, integrating urgent care with insurance, primary care, wellness, specialists, and ancillary services. As Zoom+ refocuses the future of urgent care around the needs of its community, there is much that other urgent care operators can learn in …

Dealing with Angry Urgent Care Patients

URGENT MESSAGE: American consumers have been conditioned to expect high levels of customer service in exchange for their hard-earned money, so when urgent care fails to deliver on patient expectations, the result can be devastating to a center’s reputation. Fortunately, negative experiences can be turned around by practical strategies for dealing with angry patients. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Practice Management Editor of JUCM—The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, a member of the Board …

Real Estate Trends: Repurposing Bank Branches as Urgent Care Centers

URGENT MESSAGE: As urgent care developers seek prime real estate for their medical centers, bank branches that have been vacated due to mergers may provide a high-traffic, high-visibility solution, although there are practical challenges with converting a former bank branch to an urgent care center. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Practice Management Editor of JUCM—The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, a member of the Board of Directors of the Urgent Care Association of America, …

Urgent Care: Bartenders of the Healthcare Gold Rush

URGENT MESSAGE: During the gold rush of the mid-1800s, miners and bartenders enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship in which neither could survive the Wild West without the other. In the modern “gold rush” of U.S. healthcare spending, coordinators of population health and service/technology innovators are working together to improve outcomes and lower costs, propelling new business models—including urgent care. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Practice Management Editor of JUCM—The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, …

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