Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Should the ACEs Screening Tool Consider Gun Violence?

A common screening tool used to evaluate health and adversity is in need of a modern makeover, according to a perspective in STAT News written by a graduate student at George Washington University. The screening questionnaire—the adverse childhood experience (ACE) tool that quantifies early experiences related to abuse, violence, and neglect—can indicate risk for long-term health effects throughout life. The higher an individual’s ACE score, the greater the risk of negative health outcomes. According to …

Health Systems Face Low Reimbursement, Higher Operating Costs

A recent survey of health system financial leaders by the Healthcare Financial Management Association examined the pain points executives are facing in a tough market that is characterized by higher operating costs and lower payer reimbursement. At the top of the list, 96% of the 135 system leaders polled say higher labor costs are putting downward pressure on margins, 84% say the same about lower payer reimbursement, and 47% say as much about higher supply …

Concentra Slated To Go Public in 2024

According to a press release from March 18, 2024, Concentra Group Holdings Parent Inc. has plans for the Concentra line of business to go public and has filed a confidential draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. With centers in 41 states, Concentra is one of the largest urgent care and occupational medicine operators in the country. Previously, Select Medical Holdings announced its intent to pursue separation from Concentra, carving out 2 separate …

CDC Releases Guide For Reducing Burnout

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released a guide meant to assist hospitals and provider organizations in reducing healthcare worker burnout. It offers step-by-step organizational-level actions that take into account the time, cost, and staff requirements necessary to implement new programs. CDC/NIOSH is hosting a webinar series next month to offer more insight on the application of the guide’s suggestions. The pilot-tested actions …

UCA Begins Search For Next CEO

With thew news of the expected retirement of Chief Executive Officer Lou Ellen Horwitz, the Urgent Care Association (UCA) has announced the search for its next executive leader. In 2020, Horwitz transitioned away from the UCA board of directors and out of semi-retirement to return to the UCA’s top leadership role. She previously served as the association’s executive director from 2006 to 2012. Throw your hat in the ring: No doubt the succession plans will …

Free COVID-19 Antiviral No Longer Free

In December 2023, drug manufacturer Pfizer changed its strategic sales approach for nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) by shifting to commercial sales in lieu of providing the COVID-19 antiviral drug at no-cost to patients exclusively through the federal government, according to Kaiser Health News. Some patients, such as those who are uninsured or enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, may qualify for free prescription fills, but they need to work through an application process. What’s concerning is that nirmatrelvir/ritonavir has …

Dynamics Between Pharmacists and AMA Heat Up

The American Medical Association (AMA) has been consistently outspoken against proposed legislation looking to authorize pharmacists to leverage test results to directly diagnose patients. AMA warns that such “scope creep” is detrimental to patient health because an isolated lab test depicts only a snapshot of overall health, which is not enough to determine treatment. AMA stresses that pharmacists are not trained to diagnose patients, and it has defeated pharmacist-prescribing proposals in Alabama and Louisiana. Pushing …

DOJ Questions UnitedHealth’s Contracting Practices

The Department of Justice has launched an antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth Group, focusing on how the UnitedHealthcare insurance division influences its own Optum health-services arm, according to the Wall Street Journal. Optum’s portfolio includes physician groups and other providers, and the business line employs a total physician force of about 90,000, making it the largest physician employer in the country. The investigation is digging into how Optum’s acquisitions of physician groups impact competition, particularly in …

AI Tools Will Soon Be Part of Everyday Practice

A perspectives article in JAMA Internal Medicine notes that primary care providers (PCPs) spend a large part of their time each day clicking in their medical record systems. Artificial intelligence (AI) is gradually working its way into everyday processes—such as algorithms that can suggest coding choices or predict a patient’s risk for a certain health condition—ideally to help clinicians gain some efficiencies. The author believes that the widespread availability of generative AI suggests that AI-powered …

Walgreens Pulls Village Medical Out of Multiple Markets

After investing $5.2 billion in VillageMD in 2021, Walgreens initially had plans to open at least 600 Village Medical primary care clinics within Walgreens retail pharmacy locations in 30 markets by 2025, aiming to amass about 1,000 clinics by 2027. However, last week in what seems like a relative backpedal, Walgreens announced it is now closing all its VillageMD sites in Illinois and Florida, a Drug Store News story revealed. Illinois currently hosts 6 locations, and Florida …