Practice Management
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) has agreed to acquire more than 50 North Carolina-based locations of FastMed. The pending acquisition is set to close in early 2024, and once the deal is finalized, FastMed would operate independently from the not-for-profit Blue Cross NC. The Blues plan has been a non-controlling minority investor in FastMed since 2012, and it will acquire only FastMed’s North Carolina locations. FastMed also provides telehealth, …
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A study in JAMA Network Open compared the effectiveness of enhanced nasal suctioning and minimal suctioning in infants with bronchiolitis discharged home from pediatric emergency departments (EDs). In a clinical trial of 367 infants at 4 tertiary-care pediatric EDs in Canada, participants were randomized to minimal suctioning via bulb or enhanced suctioning via a battery-operated device. The authors found enhanced suctioning did not alter the disease course compared with minimal suctioning. Get some sleep: How …
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American Family Care recently started offering semaglutide injections for weight management at its two suburban facilities located in Willowbrook and Naperville, Illinois, near Chicago. Available since May 2023, the service has enrolled approximately 50 patients who receive weekly injections, according to a Chicago NBC affiliate. American Family Care clinicians screen patients prior to treatment to ensure they meet criteria. Specifically, candidates must exhibit a body mass index (BMI) of 30—which is indicative of obesity—or a …
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The distribution arm of medical supplier Henry Schein was shut down by a cyber attack on October 15. According to SecurityWeek, the company’s 1 million global customers could not place orders, and shipments were halted. The company said its practice management software was not impacted, however. Now what: Cyber attacks are increasing in frequency as well as the scale of their financial impact on healthcare organizations and their partners. “Have a secondary supplier to fall …
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Hundreds of physicians along with approximately 150 nurse practitioners and physician assistants caring for patients in the Allina Health system have voted in favor of unionizing. Allina Health told an ABC News affiliate on Sunday that it will agree to recognize the new union. Once the union is officially certified, it will represent what could be the largest private sector physician’s union in the country. This decision follows the clinical teams’ concerns over issues such …
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In 2022, the American Hospital Association reported a projected shortage of 1.1 million nurses, meanwhile, National Nurses United said that there’s no nursing shortage but rather a lack of nurses willing to work under the current conditions. Experts suggest that both sides have valid points, according to a deep dive by STAT News. Most nurses are emphasizing the need for more staff to provide proper patient care. Yet organizations face rising labor costs as they …
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is raising awareness about the importance of improving antibiotic and antifungal use during US Antibiotic Awareness Week, November 18-24. Through communication strategies, CDC is reinforcing messages to patients and providers to remind them that anytime antibiotics or antifungals are used, they can cause side effects and contribute to antimicrobial resistance. Additionally, the agency is recognizing that health inequities can result from less-than-optimal antibiotic or antifungal prescribing practices, which …
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Individuals are obtaining antibiotics that were not prescribed for them from a variety of sources—including other countries, the internet, friends, relatives, or from previous prescriptions—and using them to self-treat their cold and flu symptoms, according to a press release from the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Convenience, past treatment experiences, and the hassle of navigating the healthcare system are among the reasons patients said they take the “nonprescription” antibiotics. The study was presented by the Baylor College …
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As previously reported in JUCM News, California is set to raise minimum wages for healthcare workers to $25—and that specifically includes urgent care employees. The new minimum wage law was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last week, and it allows pay hikes to phase in over time, beginning in June 2024 at $21 per hour, then rising to $22 per hour starting in June 2026, finally reaching $25 per hour in June 2027. Some organizations …
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Across the retail landscape, Rite Aid has appointed a new CEO and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a restructuring plan to reduce its debt. The drugstore chain has been contending with declining sales, mounting debt, and multiple lawsuits related to the opioid epidemic, according to Yahoo News. Consequently, the company anticipates losses of $650-680 million by late February. What’s the outlook like? Rite Aid certainly has a lot of ground to cover. Larger rivals …
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