Practice Management
One of Alleghany Health Networks key hospitals saw more patients choose its urgent care centers over its emergency room for the first time ever last year. Saint Vincent Hospital has also seen a steady increase in visits to its primary care offices—again, at the expense of the ED. Saint Vincent President Chris Clark, DO told attendees of the hospital’s annual meeting that’s the outcome of efforts to “do more patient care outside the four walls …
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Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days of the year for urgent care centers that are open, at least at the New York metropolitan area’s CityMD locations. Whether it’s people trying to show off with a carving flair that exceeds their skill level (cutting more than the turkey in the process), scarfing down an undercooked bird, or getting splattered with oil from a fryer, many end the day worse off than they were in the …
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The patient is a 48-year-old woman who has had hip pain since joining her two sons and husband in a backyard touch football game yesterday afternoon. In particular, she describes planting her foot and trying so duck her older son’s grasp. She reports it is especially uncomfortable when driving or sitting at her desk at work. View the images taken and consider what your next steps and a possible diagnosis would be.
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CVS Health’s MinuteClinic unit just started providing virtual healthcare in Nebraska, bringing the number of states in which patients can be seen without visiting one of its clinics to 16. MinuteClinic Video Visits are now available 24/7 using any mobile device. The company charges a flat fee of $59 for the “visit,” payable via credit card or debit card, but CVS says patients will be able to start using their insurance to cover the cost …
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Using pooled data from state and local health departments across the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 2017 saw a record number of medical visits due to tick-borne disease in the United States. Including cases of Lyme disease, anaplasmosis/ehrlichiosis, spotted fever rickettsiosis (including Rocky Mountain spotted fever), babesiosis, tularemia, and Powassan virus disease, there were 59,349 visits last year—a 22% increase from 2016. The CDC noted that there were probably far …
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Starting with the premise that “primary care is at the vortex of massive changes driven by cost-control pressures and reimbursement transformation,” an article in NEJM Catalyst proceeds to explain that urgent care is a key disrupter of primary care as we know it. In essence, the authors argue that the requirements imposed on primary care practices are in conflict with patient preferences, leaving the primary care field in a no-win situation. In regard to the …
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is alerting healthcare providers that confirmed cases of mumps are becoming more prevalent, with 142 cases reported across the U.S. That’s already more than were seen in all of 2018. Michigan and New York are seeing a disproportionate number of those cases, based on data from local and state health officials there. Michigan already has more cases this year (15) than it has seen in any full calendar …
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It’s painfully clear, from the frenzied media reports to your case load, that we’re heading into the heart of influenza season. A new report from Columbia University’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences, published in PLOS Pathogens, claims there’s a seasonality to many other infectious disease states as well, however. Many of those identified in the report are likely to present to urgent care centers. The paper identifies 69 diseases that have a fairly distinct “season,” …
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Urgent care centers deliver a higher level of service than emergency rooms, though some patients perceive that the ED offers a higher level of care, according to a report from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The data reflect analysis of five-star and one-star Yelp reviews (the highest and lowest scores, respectively) for urgent care centers and EDs. Patients giving five stars after a visit to the ED valued …
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Urgent message: A manager’s words are important to employees, which is why sensitivity is required to avoid small talk being acted upon as unintended suggestions or demands. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. When most people think of wasted time at the office, their mind automatically goes to an employee sitting behind a desk browsing the …
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