StuWilli, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Coding for Critical Care Services

Q: Can we bill for critical care services when spending extra time with patients who are very ill? A: It is rare that you would perform billable critical care services in the urgent care setting. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the American Medical Association (AMA), critical care is defined as the direct delivery by a physician(s) of medical care for a critically ill or critically injured patient. A critical …

Patient Satisfaction: A Collaborative Approach

Patient satisfaction surveys have driven a contentious wedge between management and clinical teams. While management is tasked with ensuring the practice is addressing patient needs and evolving consumer demands, providers are far more concerned with doing the right thing clinically (satisfaction be damned). However, with patient expectations changing, access to care improving, and practice economics eroding, we have to find a way to bridge this issue or we will quickly find ourselves locked in counterproductive …

Risk of Opioid Use Becoming ‘Long Term’ Rises Within Days

A new study published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report reveals that the risk for long-term opioid use—defined as use that lasts for at least 1 year—increases within just a few days of starting to take a prescribed opioid drug. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at data reflecting the care of more than a million patients who received at least one opioid prescription between June 1, 2006, and September 1, …

Can ePrescribing Help Urgent Care Fight Against Opioid Addiction?

The episodic nature of the urgent care setting makes it a popular target for opioid addicts “doctor shopping” for someone new to write prescriptions. As such, urgent care clinicians must remain always-vigilant for ways to help stem rampant opioid addiction. One tool that’s built into the urgent care electronic medical record systems (eprescribing) can be a valuable weapon in that fight. Where a paper script—or, worse, a whole pad—can be lost or stolen, an electronic …

Code 3 Continues to Spread Its Wings with Las Vegas Airport Plans

Just last week we told you that Code 3 Emergency Partners was setting up shop with an urgent care center and freestanding emergency room at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Now the company has announced plans for an urgent care center and pharmacy at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, as well; that location is slated to open in May of this year. The moves are far from random, as Code 3 CEO Carrie de …

Sometimes Parents Can’t Wait for Their Child’s Pediatrician

Your child wakes up with a sore throat and a fever. Like any responsible parent, you take a sick day and call the pediatrician, only to hear “Sorry, nothing today. We may be able to squeeze you in tomorrow afternoon.” Now what? Well, 42% of the 2,000+ parents surveyed in the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health say they would take their child to an urgent care center, retail clinic, or the …

Managing Your Urgent Care Center’s Emotional Culture

Urgent message: As in most business settings, urgent care operators emphasize the importance of a positive cognitive culture. Given the close quarters and frequent interaction among colleagues and patients, however, emotional culture can also have a strong influence on quality of care, patient and employee satisfaction—and even the success of the operation. [The following summary of the January-February, 2016 Harvard Business Review Article spotlights how organizations are slowly realizing the importance of managing the emotional …

Is Your Patient Allergic to Ragweed, or Weed?

Spring has officially arrived, and with the snow continuing to melt it won’t be long before seasonal allergens are in full bloom. Urgent care physicians are reminded, however, that symptoms of allergic reactions to pollen and ragweed can be identical to those seen in patients who are allergic to cannabis, ranging from mild sinusitis to acute exacerbations of asthma. Since allergy panels don’t typically test for reaction to marijuana, the only way to get a …

Hospital Systems Continue to Jump on the Urgent Care Bandwagon

Whether it’s due to changes in the healthcare insurance landscape, the habits of millennials, or just plain societal evolution, the public continues to recognize urgent care as a viable option more every year—reflected in the increasing number of centers around the country (up 10% since 2015, according to the Urgent Care Association of America). Hospitals were a little late to the party, but are making up for lost time by continuing to open their own …

Let National Organizations Help Spread Your Message

Righttime Medical Care has developed a program within its urgent care practice for assessing patients, often young athletes, for concussion. Called HeadFirst Sports Injury and Concussion Care, it boasts clinical staff trained in FDA-approved baseline tests. As with any new idea, however, the challenge is making sure the people who need your services know you’re there. Righttime hit upon the right idea when they linked their own promotional efforts to the Brain Injury Association of …