Practice Management
Urgent care centers might be wise to follow the lead of the many nonhealthcare businesses that have recognized the value of ensuring that lesbian, gay, bi, trans, questioning (LGBTQ) consumers are welcomed and treated appropriately. Many have invested heavily in marketing and advertising that gets that message across, in fact. Aside from the ethics of ensuring that all patients are treated with dignity, respect, and the appropriate care, a survey by Community Marketing shows that …
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The University of Colorado Cancer Center in Aurora, CO has quantified just how much urgent care can contribute to the overall health of patients with cancer—and it’s considerable. The Clinical Assessment and Rapid Evaluation (CARE) Clinic within the cancer center helped keep 21% of cancer patients out of the emergency room, generating over $176,000 in revenue over a period of 7 months. There’s no telling how many potentially serious complications were prevented by saving immunocompromised …
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We all know emergency room waiting areas are choked with patients who could be treated just as well—and in less time for less money—in an urgent care center. That makes it all the more difficult for patients who really need to be there to be seen in a reasonable amount of time. Now Thomas Health System in Charleston, WV, thinks it has found a way to make people think twice about heading to the ED …
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Four additional hours in a shift makes a big difference to busy nurses, according to new data published in the Journal of Nursing Education and Practice. Nurses working 12-hour shifts are more likely than those who put in 8 hours to experience anxiety, musculoskeletal disorders, disturbed sleep, and stress. The metaanalysis focused on 12 studies. The authors concluded that it was not so much the mere act of working for 12 hours, but the prolonged …
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We told you recently that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services lowered the threshold for physicians to be exempt from MACRA’s reporting requirements in 2018. It’s a good thing, too: 75% of physicians involved in practice decision-making say they do not feel well prepared to participate in MACRA’s Quality Payment Program (QPP). The data were just released by the American Medical Association and KPMG. The QPP pushes eligible providers to choose between the Advanced Alternative …
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Summer vacation just started, but it won’t be long before college students are getting ready to head back to campus. With mumps cases continuing to be reported at Harvard University, among other schools, reminders that patients need to ensure they’re up to date on vaccinations should be considered in every patient who comes into your urgent care center. Harvard has seen a resurgence in mumps cases over the past year. In spring 2016, there were …
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Whether your location is fixed in a resort town or a couple of blocks off the interstate, it’s likely people from other areas will be passing through or spending some time nearby this summer. Some of them are going to catch a fish hook to the finger, eat tainted seafood, or be struck with the same URIs they’d be prone to back home. (In fact, insurance industry estimates hold that 20% of people will become …
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Protecting patients against the suspect billing practices—especially “surprise billing”—of freestanding emergency rooms seems to be a high priority in the Texas legislature. Most recently, a bill that offers patients more ways to contest bills was signed into law; Senate Bill 507 expands the use of mediation to contest surprise medical bills. This problem is perceived as especially great in Texas, which is home to more than half of the freestanding ERs in the country. Further, …
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Wellmont Health System is taking a hard look at how it can integrate services among its urgent care centers and hospital facilities. The company has announced a goal of having an urgent care center within 30 minutes of every patient in its region. It’s noteworthy that Wellmont views distance between the urgent care center and the patient (and not the nearest hospital) to be of key importance. Given the trend toward viewing urgent care centers …
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Pharmaceutical giant Merck and Heritage Valley Health System are the latest healthcare organizations to be struck with a ransomware attack. The same event created havoc across Europe, as well. Electronic security experts point to a version of the Petya virus as the likely “pathogen.” While Merck was largely mum on how it fared, Heritage Valley said its network had “protections” put in place by its antivirus software vendor to ensure patient care was not disrupted. …
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