Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Mental Health UCCs Were Supposed to Ease the Burden on Emergency Rooms. Do They?

With a shortage of mental health professionals leaving too many patients without resources when they desperately need them, emergency rooms have been seeing far more patients presenting in emotional distress than ever. As JUCM News readers may recall, a smattering of urgent care centers and mental health providers have sought to help ease that burden by establishing UCCs dedicated to patients’ behavioral health. According to an article published by Cambridge Day in Massachusetts, though, Community …

CDC Sounds the Alarm on a New Wave of Resistant Fungal Infections

Incidence of Candida auris fungal infections nearly tripled between 2019 and 2021, according to new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Infection. Even more concerning, as reported by the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the fact that C auris infections resistant to the echinocandins that constitute first-line therapy are increasing, as well, albeit at a slower rate than overall infection. The JAMA analysis raises the possibility that institutional burden on …

Gain Support from Your Community by Offering Support for Your Community

With spring in full bloom and many communities still fighting to reinstate activities that were scaled down during the COVID-19 pandemic, now is the perfect time to reassert your urgent care operation as not just a dependable healthcare facility, but also a business entity eager to support local traditions. It might be Little League, the local garden club, or annual craft fairs, but surely there is something going on that you could lend support—and your …

We Know Urgent Care Is a Magnet for Venture Capital. Understanding Why Is Another (and Important) Matter

Urgent care has been riding high as the darling of venture capitalists for a few years now. To you, the reasons seem obvious: patients appreciate excellent care they can access more easily than in their primary care provider’s office at a fraction of the cost insurers would have to pay if their members went to the emergency room, for starters, and investors must see the value in that. That’s the insider’s view, but it could …

Patients or Consumers? In the Evolving Healthcare Marketplace, Can You Afford to Draw a Distinction?

While some purists may bristle at the notion, it’s a fact that an abundance of virtual and in-person options has allowed individuals the freedom to do more comparison-shopping for healthcare providers than ever before. As an article just published by the Harvard Business Review notes succinctly, when it comes to their medical care “patients in the United States aren’t loyal customers.” In fact, it goes on to reveal, they’re likely to access care from between …

‘Incidental’ Findings Still Require Action in the Urgent Care Center

One subject that tends to get overlooked in the ongoing fight against acuity degradation in the urgent care setting is incidental findings that require further investigation, treatment, or counseling. Whether a patient presents with lower back pain but is then found to have elevated blood pressure, or bloodwork run for a company physical reveals high cholesterol, they need help sooner rather than later. For all they know, they could have been living with (and incurring …

Remind Prospective Patients Why They Should Visit Your Urgent Care Center

Anyone with a working knowledge of urgent care services knows it’s typical for an urgent care center to offer x-rays on site. And even if the general public has a vague awareness of that, they could probably stand some reminding—especially if you have the opportunity to also let them know that you’re investing in your business so you can take even better care of them. Graham County Urgent Care and Family Practice in North Carolina, …

Yes, You Can Market Different Types of Care Under One Umbrella—with the Right Approach

Comarketing different aspects of your urgent care operation may not only be possible, but downright advisable according to an article published recently by Physicians Practice. Most obviously, devising (or more to the point, paying an agency to devise) separate strategies for your urgent care and primary care services, for example, is obviously more costly. However, the article also points out that such an approach disregards the fact that patient needs can be complex and while …

That Payer Provider Directories Problem We Told You About? It’s Worse Than You Know

Just a couple of weeks ago, we relayed that an investigation showed Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois failed to audit at least 25% of provider directories to ensure they were current and that their website maintained current provider information. The upshot was that your urgent care center might not show up when BCBS members searched for covered practices to visit. Now the Journal of the American Medical Association has published a study revealing that …

Offer Telehealth Services in Your Urgent Care Operation? Now You’re Competing with Google

Google apparently thinks it’s time to ratchet up its efforts to get a piece of the U.S. healthcare marketplace, as it just entered into an agreement with virtual care vendor Pager. According to the announcement, Pager will serve as an integrated service provider and technology partner, and support Google Cloud’s Healthcare application programming interface (API), dialog flow, and data platform. In short, the partnership is intended to enhance Google Cloud’s healthcare application interface through Pager’s …