bnapolitano, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

How Urgent Care is the Antidote to Traditional Doctors’ Offices

Urgent message: Changing consumer expectations have led experts to question the future viability of “traditional” doctors’ offices, but urgent care provides a model for shifting from “caregiver-focused” to “patient-centric” care. 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. In the not-so-distant future of healthcare, the familiar query Is the doctor in? could very well be met with a …

Urgent Care Visits Go Up (and Up, and Up) While Costs Remain Low vs the ED

The key question posed by the authors of an article published last month in JAMA Internal Medicine: How have patterns of care for low-acuity patients with acute conditions changed over time among a commercially insured population? The answer is, quite a lot—due largely (and much to the benefit of) urgent care. Working from 2008–2015 claims data supplied by Aetna, the researchers looked at utilization, inflation-adjusted price, and spending associated with approximately 20 million acute care …

Small Errors Could Cost Big Bucks When Billing for I&D

Q: While reviewing charts where incision and drainage (I&D) procedures were being performed, I came across instances where Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code 10060, “Incision and drainage of abscess (eg, carbuncle, suppurative hidradenitis, cutaneous or subcutaneous abscess, cyst, furuncle, or paronychia); simple or single” was billed for treatment of an abscess on the finger. I believe this is an error, since this procedure involved an abscess of the finger pad and not just paronychia. Can …

Employing the Parental Papoose Technique in Treating Young Children

Urgent message: Children presenting to the urgent care center are often in a state of distress and agitation—to the extent that they may be difficult to treat when it comes to certain procedures. The parental papoose technique may help soothe the patient—and the parent—making effective treatment more accessible. Oscar D. Almeida, Jr., MD, FACOG, FACS It is common for a young child to enter our urgent care center calmly—while being held by a parent, only …

Animals Used for Medical and Support Assistance in the Urgent Care Setting

Urgent message: Urgent care providers must be prepared to address the increasing presence of dogs and other animals used for either support or comfort by patients and/or employees. 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. Introduction Animals used for medical and emotional support assistance are commonly seen in the workplace. This includes dogs that assist …

Don’t Let Tech Safety Lapses Sink Your Urgent Care Business

We stress the importance of hygiene and a sterile work environment clinically—that’s what keeps patients and staff safe, after all. However, diligence to tech hygiene and security is just as important to the health of your business, as we can see from a couple of news reports this week. First, eClinicalWorks was fined $132,000 for violating an agreement with the Department of Justice that required vendors to report patient safety issues using their EHR system …

Need Incentive to Push Flu Shots? CDC Says 80,000 Died Last Season

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released its official estimate of the toll of last year’s flu season: An estimated 80,000 Americans died of flu and related complications—the highest death toll in over 40 years. Public health experts usually consider it a “bad year” when flu-related mortality hits the 20,000 mark, according to an interview CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD gave to the Associated Press. The severity was due to a particularly harsh …

Clothes Don’t Make the Urgent Care Physician—But They Make an Impression on the Patient

There was a time when physicians dressed to the nines while on the job; you’d think they were on their way to a 19th century ball, actually, according to a recent post in Advisory Board. That was also an era of tinctures and salves that had very little to do with the science aspect of medicine, however. As times changed, so did the provider’s “uniform.” Doctors adopted the traditional white coat in order to look …

Ultrasound Can Help Keep Patients In-House—and Boost Profitability

A patient who’s never visited your urgent care center before presents with acute pain in his right shoulder after an overly aggressive touch football game with some buddies, reliving their glory days on the high school gridiron. It could be a torn rotator cuff—in fact, you’re sure of it, but you really need an ultrasound image to confirm. Scenario 1: You do what you can for the patient’s pain, tell him to take it easy, …

Boom in ‘Company Doctors’ Could Be a Boon for Urgent Care/Occ Med Providers

The popularity of workplace medical practices has waxed and waned for ages, but with major employers like Amazon and Apple building actual on-site medical facilities for their workers, the “company doctor” may be entering a new golden age. According to a new report from Mercer, one-third of U.S. businesses with 5,000 or more employees and company-sponsored plans now have a general medical clinic on site. The idea is to lower medical costs and encourage optimal …