Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Beware the Effects of Sleep Aids on Your Clinicians

The deleterious effects of sleep deprivation have been demonstrated in innumerable clinical studies. As such, its effects on clinicians charged with treating patients is beyond question. What is in question, however, is whether the effects of inadequate rest are matched (or even surpassed) by the effects of sleep aids on healthcare providers—including urgent care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Research published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine suggests it’s a question that needs answering—and …

Texas AARP Raises the Alarm on Freestanding ER Costs vs Urgent Care Centers

Frequent reports from members who get stuck with surprise bills after visiting a freestanding emergency room have moved the Texas AARP to issue a warning to its members: Make sure you understand the type of facility you’re visiting, and verify what the cost of your care is likely to be, before you receive care. The problem, the organization says, is that many people walk into a freestanding ED thinking it’s actually an urgent care center—with …

WSJ: Keeping Patients In-House is Solid Rationale for Hospitals to Own Urgent Care Centers

Regular readers of JUCM News know that hospitals have been buying or starting their own urgent care centers in greater numbers in recent years. It’s self-evident that they see it as a good business to enter, but a new article in the Wall Street Journal confirms the economic advantages of keeping patients in-house, instead of referring them out to urgent care centers or specialty practices outside of the hospital’s organization—as in, millions of dollars in …

Improving Patient–Provider Communication Can Also Improve Antibiotic Stewardship

It’s a nearly constant battle: Patients insist on a prescription for an antibiotic even though it’s not indicated, putting prescribers in the unenviable position of either complying with an unreasonable and possibly dangerous demand or doing the right thing and incurring the unsatisfied patient’s wrath (possibly including poor ratings and complaints online). A new post on PatientEngagementHIT suggests that focusing on better communication between provider and patient could go a long way toward resolving such …

‘Ghosting’ Can Have Dramatic Implications in the Urgent Care Center

CNBC, The Washington Post, and LinkedIn have all reported on the growing phenomenon of workers who “ghost” their employers—essentially, leaving their job without providing notice and cutting off all contact with the company without explanation. While the poor ethics and etiquette of that practice are beyond question, there could be serious legal consequences if it happens in the urgent care setting. And it does happen—even among physicians and other clinical staff; some leave at the …

Hospitals Slam North Carolina Proposal, but Could it Benefit Urgent Care?

North Carolina’s state treasurer would like to see his state become the second in the country to align healthcare reimbursements with Medicare rates. The proposal is already being slammed by hospital systems and the North Carolina Healthcare Association on the grounds that any savings realized by the health plan and its members will come at the expense of overall quality of care across the state. However, Dale Folwell claims the plan he’d like to implement …

Watch Out: Employer Health System Networks Are Getting Tighter

The pressure to demonstrate the value you provide to employers, compared with telemedicine, on-site clinics, and other venues for on-demand primary care, is increasing as employer health system networks continue to become more exclusive. An article posted recently by HealthLeaders suggests that employers and insurers believe tightening their provider selections will raise quality and cut costs. Regardless of whether that logic proves fruitful in the end, the result today is that provider networks are smaller. …

The Chase for a Universal Flu Vaccine is Picking Up Speed

Every October (or earlier), the call goes up that it’s time for patients to get their annual flu shot. Urgent care providers are inundated with messages from all corners of healthcare, pleading with them to vaccinate as many people as time and patient preference allows. Advances in artificial intelligence could put a stop to that at some point, however. No, it can’t program patients to follow your advice by getting immunized. Rather, as noted in …

Multistate Telemedicine Practice Could Be a Boost or a Drain for Urgent Care Business

It’s typical for healthcare providers who are licensed in one state to be permitted to treat patients only in that state. A new set of regulations could open to door to treating patients in multiple states, however—at least virtually. Currently, 24 states belong to the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, which reduces barriers that prohibit providers from treating patients in multiple states if they’re only licensed in one. Physicians do have to apply and pay fees …

Raw Turkey Products Are Causing Salmonella Infections Across Half the Country

Cases of multidrug-resistant Salmonella infections have increased nearly 32% across 26 states and the District of Columbia over the past 6 weeks, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC and public health officials in some affected states have traced the cases back to raw turkey products. Urgent care providers should be vigilant for patients presenting with nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever, chills, headache, or blood in …