Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Your Expertise Can Be a Powerful Promotional Tool in the Community

Vaping seems to be linked to pulmonary disease—even killing some patients. Vaccine-preventable diseases like measles are reappearing in alarming numbers. Flu season is coming, and the public needs to be reminded that they need to wash their hands regularly and stay home from work if they have symptoms that could be the result of influenza infection. More and more, healthcare news is mainstream news, and local television stations, cable news outlets, online publications, and newspapers …

Remind Antivaxx Patients that Flu Shots Can Save Them from Cardiovascular Death

It may seem like we just finished the last flu season, but the statistical reality is that the next one is upon us. That means it’s time for you to start beating the vaccination drum again. You can expect the same misinformed objections from patients—the vaccine doesn’t work or can actually give you the flu; vaccines cause autism in children; the flu is no worse than a bad cold…. That last one may be the …

Free JUCM Webinars: Do Ultrasound (and All Imaging) the Right—and Profitable—Way

Offering imaging services on site is no longer a distinguishing competitive advantage for your urgent care center. The industry, as a whole, has progressed to the point that it’s considered a standard attribute. So, in order to differentiate yourself from your competitors, you need to do it better—more efficiently, with utmost accuracy, and following industry best practices. JUCM is hosting a live webinar series to help you do just that. The first session, The Role …

Build Strong Relationships by Stepping Up When Your Community Needs You—Like NOW

Urgent care providers want to help people. That’s why they chose their profession—and there may no better time to put that instinct front and center than when a community is in dire need. The interesting thing is, even if you put your “usual” way of doing business on hold you can still wind up initiating or solidifying relationships with the people who keep your business afloat. Take what one urgent care provider is doing for …

Want to Bring in More Millennial Patients? Here’s How

Like every generation, Millennials (defined as Americans born between 1981 and 1996) are inclined to share certain preferences and characteristics that might seem out-of-step with other generations. The thing is, Millennials will become the largest demographic segment of the U.S. population this year, according to Pew Research. So, at this point, consider they might not be the ones who are “out of step” if you view those preferences as counter to the way you do …

Don’t Let Bad Timing Result in ‘Surprise’ Billing to Potentially Loyal Patients

Fast growth and the deepening physician shortage are quickening the pace at which urgent care operators need to fill clinical spots. The challenge is not simply finding the right personnel, though. Just as an urgent care facility must be credentialled, so must individual providers. That can take up to 120 days—which can have serious implications when it comes to billing patients. Say a patient whose insurance has you squarely in-network is seen by a physician …

Properly Managed Meds Are Essential to Treating Patients Safely. Are You Doing it Right?

Keeping medications on site is, appropriately, a tightly regulated practice. Done improperly, it can put patients at physical risk while also leaving your operation wide open for penalties and litigation. Full compliance is your only salvation. To ensure you’re up to speed, log in to the Urgent Care Association’s upcoming webinar, Medication Management—Meeting and Maintaining Compliance, scheduled for Thursday, September 26. Melissa L. Pollard of Premier Health will walk participants through the steps necessary to …

Sexual Harassment is a Double-Edged Sword: Are You Protecting Your Staff and Your Business?

You turn over every stone to ensure your new hires are of the highest caliber not only clinically but as human beings. The vast majority of times, as in all urgent care businesses, your due diligence pays off. Then there’s the rare occasion when the horrific and unpredictable happens, as seen in a recent news story out of Fresno, CA. There, a male physician has been charged with five counts of various sex offenses against …

Walgreens Keeps Wading Deeper into the Primary and Urgent Care Pools

Walgreens appears to be working harder to transition from a retail health provider to one that offers actual urgent care/primary care services, if its most recent moves are any indication. The company revealed it’s going to work with Humana to open two primary care centers for Medicare patients in existing Kansas City-area stores by the end of this year—doubling the number of locations participating in a pilot program that began in 2018. Each will have …

AHRQ Says It Needs Your Help to Improve Antibiotic Use

By now most Americans have gotten the message that inappropriate use of antibiotics is dangerous. And yet, patients persist in begging for a prescription when a clinician tells them they have a viral infection for which an antibiotic isn’t indicated. No one is more of aware of this than the urgent care provider, who is likely to hear those pleas multiple times every day. So, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is inviting …