Industry

A couple of years ago, stories of patients getting surprise bills from freestanding emergency rooms—often based on the mistaken presumption that they had actually visited an urgent care center—ran rampant. Legislation in various states reduced the risk of that happening, and urgent care centers did their part by taking great pains to differentiate themselves from freestanding ERs. However, now that COVID-19 testing has become both common and urgently necessary, patients are again getting stung by …

We’ve told you recently that the Urgent Care Association is involved in both lobbying and public advocacy to advance the cause of urgent care operators in regard to COVID-19 testing and immunization. They’ve been successful enough in raising the industry’s profile that UCA is now assisting some local health departments with strategizing vaccine rollout to healthcare workers—but they’re asking for your help to move the ball even further down the field. The Association has developed …

Urgent care was overlooked by public health entities at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic—but the College of Urgent Care Medicine and the Urgent Care Association are fighting to ensure that never happens again. That’s of critical importance as cases continue to rise in various parts of the country and the vaccine continues to roll out. Most recently, UCA got in touch with every state vaccination administrator and/or governor’s public health advisor to advocate on …

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring, many emergency rooms were slammed with patients who either had COVID-19 or were terrified they could have it. And while urban, hospital-aligned urgent care centers saw similar crippling volumes, many others had empty waiting rooms as patients who had relatively minor concerns stayed home out of fear they’d be exposed to the virus. Now as 2021 dawns there’s a greater understanding of who is really …

With several COVID-19 vaccines heading for approval and rollout, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Each state has required every state to submit plans for statewide administration, including distribution and how populations within the state will be prioritized. Of even more relevance to the urgent care operator, the plans are also expected to include provider enrollment details. If this is news to you, or if you’re fuzzy on the details, you should be aware …

The news that Pfizer’s version of a COVID-19 vaccine was 90% effective in preventing infection was celebrated by many and greeted with skepticism by some, but across the board signaled a new phase of the fight against the pandemic. The question is, how can urgent care ensure it’s in the mix when it’s time to distribute a vaccine for public use? This is something you actually have the opportunity to influence in urgent care’s (and …

When tests for COVID-19 first became available, there was no place at the table for urgent care. Supplies were allocated elsewhere, while simultaneously patients were afraid of visiting urgent care center locations, lest they raise their risk of getting sick (a largely unfounded fear). The drop in patient visits and revenue has been well documented. Now as talk of the arrival of one or more vaccines against the virus heats up, there’s concern in some …

Many segments of our society have been forced to reduce services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After some initial, severe setbacks at the outset, however, urgent care has had the fortitude to consider where there could be opportunities to adapt for the mutual benefit of patients and the industry. Some locations became testing centers. Others broadened their virtual health offerings. Looking at the fast-approaching flu season and the ongoing pandemic, Cox South Hospital in Springfield, …