Practice Management
We look at the advent of smart technology as a window to closer contact with patients and more efficient, secure communication among providers and various healthcare stakeholders. It also opens a door for technology companies with no history in healthcare to suddenly become major disruptors. While it’s too soon to know whether that would be a good or bad thing for patients, there’s no question it makes some cogs in the supply chain nervous. If …
Read More
With international travel and increasing levels of antibiotic resistance both on the upswing, helping patients who present with any variety of infections has never been more challenging for the urgent care clinician. The Urgent Care Association will host a webinar on the subject on Thursday, June 7, from 1 to 2 pm, Central. Speaker Lori Swanson, RN, MHSA, CHC, compliance and qualify officer for Physicians Immediate Care in Illinois and Indiana, will review best practices …
Read More
Humana’s military unit has filed suit against the federal Defense Health Agency in an effort to block the details of its $45 billion Tricare managed care contract from becoming public, as reported late yesterday by Law360. Humana Military is seeking a permanent injunction blocking the agency’s decision to disclose certain proprietary information provided by Humana as part of its bid for the Tricare contract, according to the complaint filed in Washington, DC federal court. Though …
Read More
The woods have been thick with mergers joining formerly disparate segments of the healthcare industry, with major drugstore chains and insurers being a prime example. The biggest headlines of that lot followed news of CVS’s plans to by Aetna. Nonetheless, one of CVS’s key competitors is sitting out this growing trend, at least for now. Instead, Walgreens Boots Alliance has chosen to stick closer to its core business by building a close relationship with Prime …
Read More
On the surface, offering online check-in sounds like a can’t-miss proposition that combines the organization of an appointment-based practice with the convenience of a walk-in system. As with most innovations that purport to solve all your problems in a given area, however, this option is not risk-free for urgent care operators who want to drive up visits while offering a better experience for their patients. According to a new article published on LinkedIn by Alan …
Read More
It isn’t enough for urgent care clinicians to be more judicious in prescribing opiates for patients in pain. A seamless approach to medication security also has to be in place in order to thwart crooked workers looking to make a quick buck on the backs of addicts in need of a fix. A case in southwest Florida is a painful reminder that anyone with access to addictive drugs could land your business in trouble and …
Read More
Insurers, health systems, and state governments have cobbled together regulations on various aspects of prescriptions for opiates. The federal government is working on legislation aimed at curbing the opioid crisis, too. Walmart and Sam’s Club’s pharmacies aren’t waiting for new regulations to mandate the limits of opioid prescriptions, however. Instead, the parent company is imposing a limit of 7-days’ supply for patients who are prescribed opiates for acute, short-term pain. Those restrictions will start within …
Read More
Western Connecticut Medical Group (WCMG) and American Family Care (AFC) have entered into a collaborative partnership to provide coordinated patient care—or, put more plainly, to increase the odds of retaining patients who visit AFC’s urgent care locations within a defined follow-up path. The two companies have structured their arrangement so AFC patients who need follow-up will have improved access to primary and specialty care practices within WCMG. Traffic will be two-way, too; WCMG patients who need …
Read More
It would seem to be self-evident that your urgent care center needs to collect on all fees for care provided in order to stay in business. Whether by sloppy bookkeeping, honest mistakes, or well-intentioned attempts at “charity,” however, millions of dollars are going unclaimed for services rendered across the country, according to an editorial that appeared in the Chicago Tribune recently. The opinion piece, penned by the paper’s Editorial Board, goes so far as to …
Read More
When is a free physical not free, but still a bargain? When the true cost is a donation—in any amount the patient chooses—to a charity for children. That’s the deal New England Urgent Care is offering at its West Hartford, CT location for the next couple of weeks. They’ll conduct physicals for children who need one before they can go to summer camp, waiving their normal fee in exchange for a donation of any amount …
Read More