Practice Management
In a grim reminder of “chickenpox parties,” mainstream media from coast to coast are reporting on COVID-19 parties in which dozens of individuals gather to have a good time—and to spread the virus among themselves in a misguided effort to encourage immunity. Not surprisingly, public health officials in those areas are reporting anecdotally that patients who get diagnosed with COVID-19 mention they’ve attended such an event recently. One physician in Walla Walla County, WA told …
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If COVID-19 has taken frontline clinicians and public health experts by surprise, you can be sure the same is true of billing and coding professionals. JUCM has brought you updates as often as possible (see The Impact of Public Health Emergency on Revenue Cycle Management by Monte Sandler, executive vice president, revenue cycle management for Experity, for example), but as the situation evolves so must your approach. So, Experity and the Urgent Care Association collaborated …
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Results of the latest “snapshot” survey from the Urgent Care Association indicate that things could be looking up, at last, for urgent care centers. While the sample size is small (103 respondents), the results indicate that at least some operators are expanding services and seeing downward trends reverse. For one thing, 80% of responding urgent care centers are now offering telemedicine services, with a median of five encounters per day. That doesn’t appear to be …
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We recently reported data indicating that the public in general is declining preventive care, and even going to the doctor when they have relatively minor complaints. Now an article published in JAMA Network Open reveals that children enrolled in Medicaid may be falling behind on recommended vaccination schedules out of fears that it isn’t safe to visit the pediatrician’s office. It’s likely, then, that children covered by every type of health plan are missing out …
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Recently, a New York City intern posted a blog in which she said her experience during the COVID-19 pandemic as left her feeling “so terribly, soul-crushingly helpless.” An article published in Physicians Practice noted that fear, anxiety, hopelessness, and guilt may be common feelings among providers who are overwhelmed with more patients than they can help. The same goes for urgent care providers who are worried about their jobs because their location has seen patient …
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Now that the weather is turning warmer in much of the country—coinciding with relaxed attitudes toward COVID-19 and a general need to get out of the house—many people are venturing outside to exercise for the first time in months. Undoubtedly, many of them are a bit rusty and may be inclined to overdo it and injure themselves in the process. According to the American Academy of Pain Medicine, this may be a good time to …
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Regardless of where you stand in the debate over the appropriate time to “open up” the country and see businesses return to relatively normal operations, it’s clear that there will still be people infected with COVID-19. If you offer occupational medicine services, it’s all but inevitable that some of them will be employed by your clients—who will be looking to you for guidance and care. A new article published online by BusinessTech suggests screening all …
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Patients with COVID-19 who are also current or former smokers or who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are at greater risk for severe complications and mortality than other COVID-19 patients, according to a study just published in the journal PLOS ONE. In analyzing data from 15 studies reflecting 2,473 patients with confirmed COVID-19, the researchers found that patients with COPD were at a higher risk of more severe disease (risk of severity = 63% compared …
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You don’t need to be told that these are hard times for urgent care. In addition to the very real problems many individual operators, clinicians, and staffers are experiencing thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry as a whole is facing uncertainty. Even the Urgent Care Association’s annual convention had to be recast as a virtual event. Still, UCA is continuing in its mission to advocate and serve as a resource for the urgent care …
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Urgent care operators who offer occupational medicine services will be more valuable than ever once states make the difficult decision to resume “normal” operations and allow businesses to do the same. What that looks like will undoubtedly vary from state to state, but it’s likely that worker testing, examinations, and workplace hygiene practices will be a subject of great interest for both employers and workers. Occ med providers will be in a great position to …
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