Harris Fleming, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Urgent Care Could Be seeing Even More STI Patients Thanks to Federal Budget Cuts. Are You Ready?

Ripple effects of the recent federal debt ceiling haggling could have significant effects on public health departments’ ability to test and treat patients for possible sexually transmitted infections, according to a report from CNN. All told, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects to lose approximately $1.3 billion in funding, according to the report, with local health outreach programs, including those related to STIs, expected to take an especially heavy hit. Given the already …

Would a Physician Assistant by Any Other Name Add Any More or Less Value to Your UC Operation?

Physician assistants and nurse practitioners (known collectively as advanced practice providers, or APPs) provide significant care in UCCs across the country. Given that they typically are paid less than physicians while also having the training to perform relatively complex tasks, many view them as indispensable to the success of an urgent care center. It should be of interest, then, that a movement has been afoot for several years now for PAs to change their title …

The Texas Urgent Care Landscape Is Changing in a Big Way This Summer

Baylor Scott and White Health, the largest nonprofit health system in Texas, is making a major effort to increase its presence in the urgent care marketplace by bringing 41 NextCare locations into the fold. As reported by D magazine, the move will break new markets including Abilene, San Antonio, and Houston for BSWH, which currently operates eight branded UCCs in the state. Branding for the new locations is yet to be made public. The partnership …

Wait Times Are Out of Hand at Some Hospital ED’s. Patients Need to Know Your UC Is an Alternative

It’s not news that patients are very likely to wait longer to see a provider in a hospital emergency room than in an urgent care center. That’s why UC continues to thrive. It may come as a surprise to learn exactly how long patients wait in some EDs, though. According to an article published by Becker’s Hospital Review, during a recent survey period the average ED wait time was nearly 8 hours (476 minutes) at …

‘Location, Location, Location’ May Be a Higher Priority for Patients Than You Think

Urgent care providers and operators are primarily (and appropriately) concerned with the quality of the care they provide. Having gravitated to urgent care, it’s likely they also care deeply about efficiency and cost. One factor that may draw (or dissuade) patients could be hovering under the radar, however. According to an article published on REjournals.com, location is right up there with service and quality when patients are choosing among healthcare facilities to visit. In fact, …

Don’t Be Modest—Promote Your Providers as the Health Experts They Are in the Community

Every summer, it becomes evident that parents need reminders of seemingly basic information that can help their children stay safe and feel good throughout the summer. Whether it’s wearing bike helmets, getting checked for ticks, or avoiding sunburns, simple things can become big problems if they’re not top-of-mind. Communities served by University of Iowa Health Care recently got the lowdown on dealing with seasonal allergies from an online newsletter article written by an advanced nurse …

If the Medication ‘Stopped Working,’ Maybe the Patient Stopped Taking It. Guess Why

Urgent care providers don’t necessarily have the benefit of a rich history with the patients they treat. So, it may be puzzling when a patient with too-high blood pressure lists an antihypertensive among their medications. Is it the wrong medication, the wrong prescription, is the patient just not “on it?” Data from the National Center for Health Statistics suggest there’s another possible explanation you should ask the patient about: cost. The NCHS says in 2021 …

Could Informal ‘Interns’ Ease the Burden on Your Team While Raising Your Profile?

Mercer Health may have hit on the value of a practice that is pretty common in nonclinical businesses: summer interns. These are not “interns” in the usual medical setting sense, but college students looking for opportunities to learn about a work environment while still undergraduates. In Mercer’s case, they’re also kids who are planning to apply to medical school eventually and want to round out their resumes with practical experiences that indicate their commitment to …

Follow-Up: With Hospital Cutbacks Already Affecting the Public, It’s Time for UC to Step Up

As you may recall, JUCM News just informed you that dozens of hospitals are cutting back on services and hours, or ceasing to provide service altogether in certain departments—and suggested that such moves, necessary as they may be, would have a spillover effect that could ultimately affect urgent care. Now there’s an article in Time magazine indicating that this is already happening. It quotes a county health official who recently visited a local hospital as saying …

Speak Freely—There Are Ways to Get Your UC’s Name Out There Besides Advertising

Anybody who tuned in to WGIL radio at the right time recently learned everything they needed to know about OSF OnCall Urgent Care in Galesburg, IL. That’s because the facility’s manager was a guest on Galesburg Live, one of the station’s shows, talking about what makes urgent care a distinct environment. More to the point, she also spoke about OSF OnCall’s capabilities and of course their hours and location. She also shared a bit about …