Practice Management
Texas is the latest state to report a dramatic jump in patients complaining about “surprise” medical bills after a trip to the hospital—on the order of a 1,000% increase between 2012 and 2015, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. The Centers for Public Policy Priorities in Austin notes that while there is no state law against “balance billing” in place, federal lawmakers are working on a bill that would make the practice illegal. Several …
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Legal use of marijuana could mean high times for urgent care centers that offer robust occupational medicine services—such as workplace drug testing—provided the operators are up on applicable state laws. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have enacted medical marijuana laws, though the laws in just eight of those states (Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New York, and Minnesota) include antidiscrimination or reasonable accommodation provisions for employers. Arizona, Delaware, and Minnesota have laws …
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A new study found a significant link between asthma, the use of bronchodilators, and rupture of abdominal aneurysms (AAA). The news underscores the importance of getting a thorough medical and medication history for patients presenting to urgent care with asthma-like symptoms. Researchers noted that asthma patients over age 50, in particular, appear to have an increased risk for AAA and sudden death from its rupture, with the risk going up with recent asthma activity. Further, …
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As public exchange coverage climbed in the third quarter of 2015, use of off-exchange private coverage dropped, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This see-saw effect seems to indicate that U.S. health carriers had more trouble holding on to enrollees in group plans and off-exchange individual policies than they did holding on to enrollees in public exchange plans. Critics of the Affordable Care Act exchange system have noted that …
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GoHealth Urgent Care is broadening its horizons by partnering with Dignity Health to open 12 urgent care centers in the San Francisco Bay area within the next 12 to 15 months. The venture will be owned equally by the two companies, but Dignity physicians will staff the new facilities. Each center will have basic lab and x-ray capabilities. Presently, GoHealth’s operations are limited to the New York and Portland, OR metropolitan areas. Dignity Health is …
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A new article published in the journal Pediatric Emergency Care adds valuable data that should further distinguish urgent care centers from retail health outlets commonly seen in community drugstores. Lead author Robert Wilkinson, DO and colleagues set out to quantify how prepared urgent care centers are for emergencies involving younger patients per guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics. They found it is typical for urgent care centers to have what it deems “essential …
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As some insurers explore the wisdom of encouraging web chats and email for physician–patient communication, a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine supports the idea that text messages may bolster patient compliance with a physician’s directions. This particular metaanalysis considered 16 studies involving nearly 3,000 patients and showed an 18% increase in patient follow-through with appropriate medication use (from 50% to 68%). Increased adherence with medication regimens not only leads to better outcomes, but …
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A breakdown of consumer spending from the Bureau of Labor Statistics supports the notion that the high cost of healthcare encourages patients to seek care in less traditional settings like urgent care. Data for 2012–2014, the most current available, show that 19 percent of total healthcare spending is out of pocket—and that figures is still on the rise. With an increase of 20.6%, increases in total spending for healthcare far outpaced income before taxes (up …
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HCA is joining with Coca-Cola, Verizon, American Express, and other major companies in diverse industries in a new initiative aimed at stemming skyrocketing healthcare costs. The 20 member companies of the Health Transformation Alliance will pool data on the population health of their workers as a first step toward making “smarter and better decisions” when it comes to employee health plans, according to Tevi Troy, president of the American Health Policy Institute (which came up …
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Investments in employee wellness programs appear to benefit the companies that make them beyond attracting quality employees; they may actually be linked to higher stock prices, according to data published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Three new peer-reviewed studies looked at the change in stock prices for three portfolios of employers who won awards for their employee wellness programs or who self-scored themselves as having a comprehensive program. In all three cases, …
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