StuWilli, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Unspecified Diagnosis Codes, Preoperative Examinations, and Tuberculosis Skin Tests

Q. We are afraid of getting denials for using unspecified ICD-10-CM [International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification] codes. In an urgent care center, we sometimes will see a particular patient only one time for minor illnesses and injuries, and follow-up with their primary-care physician is always advised. Do you have any advice on documenting to get claims paid? A. Within ICD-10-CM, you may select codes defined as “Not Otherwise Specified” (NOS). Generally, this should …

Clinical Challenge: December, 2015

Case A 56-year-old woman presents after a fall onto her outstretched hand. She has pain with range of motion of the wrist. She has no associated numbness or weakness and reports no other injuries. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be.

The Most Frequent Disposition of Cases at U.S. Urgent Care Centers in 2014

Data from the 2014 Urgent Care Chart Survey of 1,778,075 blinded visits by patients to more than 800 different urgent care clinics, conducted by the Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, reveal that the most frequent disposition of cases at U.S. urgent care centers in 2014 was provision of follow-up care as needed. The survey’s methodology and data abstraction forms were initially designed in 2008 by researcher Robin M. Weinick, PhD, then an assistant professor at …

Clinical Challenge 2: November, 2015

Case A 67-year-old man presents with constipation and abdominal pain that has been present for the last 2 days. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

LITERATURE REVIEW: Early Administration of Azithromycin and Prevention of Severe Lower RTI

Citation: Bacharier LB, Guilbert TW, Maugeret DT, al. Early administration of azithromycin and prevention of severe lower respiratory tract illnesses in preschool children with a history of such illnesses. JAMA. 2015;314:2034-2044. Reviewed by: Michael B. Weinstock, MD Background/question: The authors wanted to know if antibiotics administered early in the course of a respiratory tract infection (RTI) in children with recurrent, severe RTIs decreased progression of disease. Study: This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at …

WellSpan, MedExpress Strike Micro Partnership

WellSpan Health continues to broaden its reach into urgent care, this time striking a partnership with MedExpress—somewhat unusual in that it involves just a single clinic and reflects no change in ownership for either company. WellSpan has been slowly buying up healthcare properties in the area, having acquired Good Samaritan Health System in Lebanon, PA and brought a local orthopedic practice into its fold earlier this year. WellSpan Health is a large integrated healthcare system …

Urgent Care a ‘Disrupter’ of Traditional Primary Care

A new study concludes that the healthcare marketplace is dictating a major renovation of primary care—and urgent care is both one of the causes and a potential beneficiary of the dramatic changes in the landscape. The report from PwC Health Industries’ Health Research Institute says rising costs and increased demand for primary care practitioners are forcing stakeholders to rethink their business models to unlock value. Simon Samaha, MD of PwC says the solution lies in …

States Grapple with Their Own Regulatory Approach to Urgent Care

URGENT MESSAGE: Urgent care centers are subject to myriad oversight by individual states, accrediting bodies, Medicare/Medicaid, and private insurance companies. Still, the patchwork nature of state regulatory and legislative trends impacting urgent care in 2015 raises questions—and expectations—for what might be coming next year. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, a member of the Board of Directors of the Urgent Care Association, and Vice President …

Spend on Equipment Now, Save on Taxes Later

Tax day is still five months away, but urgent care operators might be able to reduce their burden by ordering necessary equipment and supplies before saying good-bye to 2015. Seeing as how we don’t know what changes Congress might make to the tax code next year and vendors often raise prices with the new year, this could be an especially opportune time to take a look around and decide where it makes sense to trade …