Practice Management
Urgent care, by nature, is a fast-paced practice setting; patients come to your practice because they don’t feel like they can wait to see a primary care provider, after all. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the pace can take its toll, especially on the clinical staff. Providers can reach the point of burnout if they’re not careful. Now, Practice Velocity has a few suggestions that might help, put forth in a blog …
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The emergency room presents bit of a paradox for many cancer patients, according to a new article published in the journal Oncology Nurse Advisor: A trip to the ED is risky for anyone with a compromised immune system—which would apply to many oncology patients—but at the same time cancer and related treatment can cause a seemingly endless list of complications that require immediate attention. “Visiting the ED is often a portal to hospitalization for these …
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Far too many prescriptions are being written for patients with acute respiratory infections, including influenza, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As many as 41% of antibiotic prescriptions for ARIs were deemed “inappropriate” by the CDC. In addition, despite published guidelines, vigorous public awareness campaigns, and missives to prescribers, nearly 30% of patients who tested positive for viral flu infection were prescribed antibiotics. The data, published in JAMA …
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Legislators in New Jersey have passed legislation aimed at increasing the transparency of health care prices, especially fees for services rendered by out-of-network providers. When it takes effect less than 90 days from now, healthcare facilities and providers will be required to give patients information on network status prior to delivering nonemergent or nonurgent care. That last stipulation is what should be of interest to urgent care operators: The law says care provided on an …
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Employers and insurers can expect to see a 6% increase in healthcare costs in 2019, according to the Medical Cost Trend report just released by PwC. If that’s the case, rest assured they won’t just be eating the cost, but passing the bump along to employees and plan members. Given that 12% of wages are presumed to go toward healthcare, all concerned parties will be looking to do more with less—which may make urgent care …
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting that the 2017-2018 flu season saw 172 children die from influenza—the most recent being just a week ago. It’s the deadliest flu season ever for children, a record made all the more tragic by the fact that 80% of the children who died were not vaccinated against the flu, according to the CDC. In addition to the flu being especially severe, it remained active in every …
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Vermont Gov. Phil Scott just signed a new law into effect that requires residents of the state to carry health insurance. Details of the law, which will take effect January 1, 2020, are still being worked out by a special commission. One such detail is the nature of the penalty for those who don’t comply with the law. Advocates say it won’t necessarily be a financial one, yet no other possible consequences have been disclosed …
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More than one insurer has tried to dissuade plan members from going to the emergency room by threatening to stick them with the bill if their visit proves (after the fact) to have been nonemergent. The urgent care industry has also put a good deal of effort into trying to educate the public as to when they really need to be in the ED and when it makes more sense, both logistically and economically, to …
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Recent suicides by high-profile celebrities are a reminder that most of us never know what struggles someone is dealing with. While it may be especially surprising when the person is someone the public perceives to “have it all,” a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that suicide is far too common, and becoming more so. There was a 25% increase in suicide between 1999 and 2016 in the United States, …
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Most of your urgent care patients—and prospective patients—would never even think of visiting your location unless they really need to see a clinician today and they can’t get in to see their primary care provider. Seasonal promotions can be a great way to change that, though, giving you an opportunity to introduce them to your services at a time they’re not feeling their worst. American Family Care (AFC) is doing just that by offering a …
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