Practice Management
In January 2023, pharmacy chain CVS made an investment of $100 million in Carbon Health—a primary care and urgent care operation—presumably to augment the limited scope of CVS’ existing MinuteClinic business. Now, CVS retail stores in the Northeast are starting to show signs of Carbon Health’s entrance. According to Salem News (Massachusetts), locations in the cities of Beverly and Swampscott are planning to open new in-store clinics that will replace and significantly expand on the …
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The Home Test to Treat program, a virtual community-health initiative created by the federal government, has scaled up to offer free nationwide testing and treatment services for COVID-19 and influenza. Offering at-home rapid tests, telehealth sessions, and home-delivered medication, the program is a collaboration among three federal agencies. Uninsured adults or those enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Affairs, or the Indian Health Services can now enroll to receive free tests. Positive test results allow patients …
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In a cohort study of more than 2.7 million emergency department (ED) visits published in JAMA Network Open, researchers found long wait times and lengths of stay were common at children’s hospitals during the 2022 surge of viral respiratory illnesses. They studied visits across 25 EDs from September 1 to December 31, 2022, including 301,688 pediatric visits for viral and respiratory illness, such as COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus. The experience during this time period …
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Under the “Live Healthy” initiative proposed by Florida lawmakers in early December, every hospital emergency department (ED) would need to create a plan for handling patients who present with non-emergent conditions and/or for those who do not have access to a primary care physician. The aim of the proposed legislation is to divert non-emergent ED visits to urgent care or primary care, thus saving ED resources and encouraging less costly preventive care. If passed, the rules would …
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Sesame, a virtual and in-person primary care provider with direct-pay pricing, has now added the ubiquitous doctor’s note to its list of services. In the company’s press release, it clearly draws competitive battle lines in the market by calling out urgent care as an option that “is quite expensive” for patients who need to obtain doctor’s notes for work or school. Sesame offers the notes free of charge with paid consultations, which start at $30. …
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Sentara Health has acquired full ownership of Velocity Urgent Care, according to a press release. The hospital system has been operating Velocity as a joint venture for more than 6 years, and with the acquisition, has plans to open a new location in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, early next year. With nearly 200 employees, the Velocity network of centers currently serves patients in 17 locations in Virginia. The integration aims to enhance patient access and …
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In late November, New Jersey lawmakers proposed Bill A5731, which amends one of the state’s statutes. The bill would mandate that providers in urgent care centers have degrees and qualifications equal to those required for hospital emergency department providers. The category would encompass all licensed professionals, including physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and nurse practitioners. The bill broadly defines “urgent care facility” as a health center offering episodic, walk-in care for non-life-threatening conditions. If passed, the …
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LinkedIn has launched new features specifically aimed at helping nursing professionals refine job search filters on the social media site so they can find jobs more specific to their licensing and clinical specialties. Nurses can also filter job postings by shift and schedule. By sifting through the many open positions more precisely, LinkedIn aims to make a better match not only for qualifications but also for the preferences of the 3 million job-hunting nurses that …
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Amazon recently made headlines by offering One Medical 24/7 on-demand virtual care access and limited brick-and-mortar office access for Prime members for a rock-bottom price of just $9 a month. After investing $3.9 billion in the concierge platform for primary care, Amazon has yet to gain the traction it needs to realize a return, many observers believe. While urgent care operators are absorbing the chatter around Amazon and likely struggle to process the real-world threat …
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A high-level view of the urgent care landscape in the New York Times last week cited not only the urgent care market’s growth but also its benefits. The news item calls out the 60% increase in patient visits from 2019 to 2020 as well as the impressive revenue projections for this year—estimated at $48 billion. CityMD’s chief medical officer explains in the interview with NYT how patients seeking services at an urgent care center can be …
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