Practice Management
CVS revealed in a statement on January 30 that it will close 25 of its retail-store-based MinuteClinic locations in Greater Los Angeles in February, leaving just 11 rooftops in the area. The company said the closures will “help support future growth and design the next evolution of community health destinations,” according to reports from the LA Times and Orange County Register. Affected employees who do not find a new position within the company reportedly will …
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The Food And Drug Administration recently approved a device that provides non-invasive skin cancer screening at the point of care, according to Reuters. DermaSensor, a privately held company, says its spectroscopy technology can use light and artificial intelligence to evaluate cellular and subcellular characteristics to assist clinicians in identifying the presence of skin cancer in suspicious moles or lesions. A study by the Mayo Clinic of more than 1,000 patients showed that the device had …
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More parents are bringing their kids to urgent care, according to new national trend data captured in a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The percentage of children and adolescents (17 years old and younger) who had at least 1 visit to an urgent care center or a retail clinic in the past 12 months increased from 21.6% in 2021 to 28.4% in 2022. When CDC broke down the data into …
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In New Jersey, Hackensack Meridian Health is now offering its HMH Urgent Care, which integrates behavioral health with same-day urgent care and telemedicine visits. According to Becker’s Hospital Review, it’s the first urgent care that simultaneously provides both immediate medical care and services for psychiatric conditions as part of a strategy to reduce emergency department visits. The HMH Urgent Care suite includes short-term outpatient care for those 16 years and older to address anxiety, depression, mood …
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According to a JAMA study, providers are increasingly billing patient-initiated text messages as “telemedicine.” Not to be confused with synchronous video visits, more than 100,000 such text-message charges were billed per month in 2022, and monthly volume increased 40% from Q4 of 2021 to Q4 of 2022. That’s the same comparison period in which urgent care visits were down significantly as the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged. Top UC diagnoses: “What really stands out are the top …
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Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly just launched its own telehealth website where patients can access physician appointments and the prescription drug tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound) for weight loss. The new LillyDirect platform also offers free home-delivery service, but it will not provide discounts on tirzepatide. As described in a news story in People, Mounjaro is approved to treat type 2 diabetes, and Zepbound is approved to treat obesity, each with a list price of more than $1,000 for a …
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The term “physician associate” seems to have cyclical comebacks, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. The American Academy of Physician Assistants changed its name in 2021 to the American Academy of Physician Associates and today simultaneously uses the acronym “PA” with both physician associate and physician assistant titles. However, the academy has changed its name before, reflecting membership and industry roles. The majority of urgent care visits—some 85%, according to Experity data—are delivered by either PAs …
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WellNow urgent care and health insurer Excellus BlueCross BlueShield were not able to reach an agreement on network status prior to the ultimate expiration of the 2023 contract year, according to a news report on Syracuse.com. Both companies say they’ve engaged in good-faith discussions in an attempt to continue the contract for 2024, and Excellus reportedly offered an increase in reimbursement during negotiations. WellNow is the sole storefront provider of urgent care in central New …
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Sterling Urgent Care recently cut ribbons on 4 new locations in Boise, Idaho, with an additional location set to open its doors in the state in spring of 2024, according to a press release. The center openings will bring the total number of Sterling rooftops to 19 locations across Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah, with a new entry into Montana planned for the future. The urgent care operator has a unique model in that it’s owned …
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In Arkansas, a new rule will begin January 1, 2024, allowing ambulance services to triage, treat, and transport patients to alternative destinations, including urgent care centers, physician offices, and behavioral health facilities. However, the ambulance service will be on-task to first coordinate the patient’s care with a physician or a behavioral health specialist via telemedicine. Insurers will also be required to cover 911-initiated ambulance dispatch resulting in telemedicine triage, transportation to the alternative destination, and/or treatment …
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