Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

When Will CMS Boost Reimbursement for the COVID-19 Vaccine? (How Does ‘Now’ Sound?)

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has instituted a course correction regarding reimbursement for COVID-19 vaccination. As of March 15, CMS has increased the amount from approximately $28 to $40 for the single-dose vaccine and approximately $45 to $80 for those requiring the two-dose schedule. CMS says the decision to increase reimbursement reflects the growing body of information about the actual costs involved in administering the vaccine across different settings by an array of …

Be Vigilant for Breakthrough COVID-19 in Vaccinated Individuals

As we’ve reported, there seems to be confusion among the public regarding when it’s relatively safe to interact with others after being vaccinated against COVID-19. The consensus among public health officials has been that the vaccine reaches optimal protection against the virus 14 days after administration. However, recently there have been reports of breakthrough cases occurring beyond that window. While patients who’ve tested positive more than 2 weeks after getting the vaccine have been asymptomatic, …

Could Urgent Care Fill a Critical Void as a One-Stop Shop for COVID-19 Testing, Vaccination, and Treatment?

At a couple of points over the past year as the country (and the world) struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been brief moments of triumph. One was when tests became widely available. Another was when the first vaccines were approved. Those moments were also marked with the disappointment that urgent care was not looked at as part of the solution, in either case. Now that urgent care centers are, for the most part, …

New Data on COVID-19 Vaccine After-Effects—What’s Expected, and What’s Cause for Concern

As more Americans get the COVID-19 vaccine, there’s a growing body of data on what after-effects patients are likely to experience—some of which may be so concerning to them that they visit your urgent care center. Recognizing those concerns, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published patient-friendly guidance on what can be expected post-shot, as well as self-care recommendations and advice on when it makes sense to see a healthcare provider. Pain, redness, …

Desperation and Fear Over COVID-19 Are Driving Patients to Make Costly Mistakes

Fear of COVID-19 and confusion over the capabilities of urgent care centers are still combining to lead some patients to make poor decisions over where they seek care, and just what level of care they really need. Evidence of this is clear in a report aired recently by KRGV television in the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas. A woman there woke up one morning achy and having a hard time breathing. She felt more …

Mandates or Not, New Data Continue to Support the Protective Value of Wearing a Mask

While various states are easing restrictions devised to help curb the spread of COVID-19, Texas has taken the most dramatic step by dropping its mask mandate altogether. This coincides with new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published in MMWR, indicating that requiring people to wear masks in public places like retail establishments and restaurants helped reduce both the incidence of infection and deaths attributed to the virus. Between March 1 and …

If You Don’t Know the Four Conditions Responsible for Most COVID-19 Admissions, You Should

Even though the increasing number of approved vaccines is grabbing the headlines these days, the hard truth is that millions of Americans continue to become infected with the COVID-19 virus. An unacceptably high number of those patients require a stay in the hospital, where the risk of mortality is still relatively high compared with patients who do not need to be admitted. Thankfully, new research continues to shed light on which patients are at the …

Patients Are Confused Over What’s ‘OK’ After the COVID-19 Shot. Set Them Straight

With more American receiving the COVID-19 vaccine every day, confusion is bubbling up over what “safe behavior” means post-shot. Are masks still advised? What about social distancing and quarantine procedures? Recognizing the potential for misinformation to cause a setback in our fight against the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidance on appropriate safety standards for people who have been vaccinated and those around them. Among the highlights are the revelation …

Don’t Overlook Recent Tattoos as a Possible Cause for Hard-to-Explain Symptoms

Television station WRIC in Virginia ran a story recently about a woman who visited a local urgent care center as well as the emergency room after awaking one morning with eye pain and vision disturbances (including total vision loss in one eye). Various providers in both settings were stumped after ruling out conditions ranging from severe conjunctivitis to an unknown foreign body. After weeks of running from one doctor to the next, an optometrist suggested …

Some States Are Moving to View APPs Like Physicians. What Does This Mean for Urgent Care?

Utah state legislators just voted to expand physician assistants’ ability to practice without physician supervision. North Dakota did the same 2 years ago. While that’s clearly a nod to advanced practice providers’ essential role in administering healthcare, as well as a concession to the downturn in physicians choosing to practice primary care, there are concerns among some in the urgent care community that the trend toward recognizing care provided PAs and nurse practitioners on the …