Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Recognize the Weight Your Words Carry; Patients Trust You More Than They Do the CDC

It’s unlikely a patient would think to tell you this directly, but new research published by the journal Health Affairs shows that in the COVID-19 era physicians and nurses are more trusted for health information than federal, state, and local health agencies. While 37% of 4,208 participants in a telephone survey said they trust the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide solid information, 54% said they trust physicians “a great deal” while 48% …

A New COVID Variant Is Increasing Concern Across the Globe—Including in the U.S.

It’s more of an issue internationally right now, but 18 U.S. states have reported cases of the emerging omicron variant XBB.1.16. While XBB.1.5 is still the most prevalent variant here, the World Health Organization reports that XBB.1.16 has been reported in 22 countries and has become the dominant variant in some of those, already increasing hospitalizations and deaths. XBB variants 1.9.1, XBB, and XBB.1.5.1 are also on the rise domestically, raising concerns that severe cases …

List of Top Black Healthcare Leaders Reflects Well on Urgent Care Diversity

Physicians and executives with close ties to urgent care are prominent among Becker’s Hospital Review’s list of Black Healthcare Leaders to Know for 2023. As Becker’s reasons, diversity among providers and healthcare organization leadership “leads to more informed, personalized care and improved outcomes” while those chosen to be on the list have demonstrated an ability to foster “positive patient experiences, paving the way for the next generation of leaders, and promoting health equity.” Among them …

Urgent Care Boomed at the Expense of Telehealth and the ED from 2020 to 2021

You might assume that utilization of telehealth continued what had been steady growth in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. You’d be mistaken, however. In fact, telehealth claim lines actually plummeted by 76% from 2020 to 2021, according to the FH Healthcare Indicators and FH Medical Price Index 2023 report. At the same time, it goes on to say, urgent care claim lines jumped 14% while ambulatory surgical centers dropped 7% and emergency room …

Be Aware: Shorter Visits by Certain Patients Seem to Increase Inappropriate Prescriptions

Efficient time management is one of the signature attributes—and biggest draws—of an urgent care visit. A new study published by JAMA Health Forum could be viewed as a caveat for urgent care providers, however, as it suggests that shorter visits to primary care physicians seem to result in more poor prescribing decisions than longer visits do—at least for certain categories of medications and among patients from certain demographic groups. The cross-sectional study, which reflects the …

A Consolidation of Signs of Symptoms of Pediatric Pneumonia

Urgent message: While pneumonia in general continues to be a common diagnosis in children in the United States, relatively few studies have sought to determine the signs and symptoms that help to predict occult bacterial pneumonia. Awareness of associated signs and symptoms may assist the urgent care provider in proceeding more quickly to a correct diagnosis. Alyssa Whited, PA-C and Christina Gardner, PA-C CASE PRESENTATION A 5-year-old male with no significant past medical history presented …

Assure, Don’t Assume, You’re on All the Provider Directories You Should Be

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois’s failure to ensure its online provider directories are current should be a wake-up call for urgent care operators everywhere. As reported by Becker’s Hospital Report, the company was just fined $605,000 for violating state network transparency laws; an audit showed the company failed to audit at least 25% of provider directories to ensure they were current and that their website maintained current provider information. The implication for urgent care …

Whether Priced for the Masses or the Elite, Providers Are Giving ‘Memberships’ a Look

A company called Sollis Health swears they “don’t replace your primary care physician,” but is hoping patients won’t mind spending up to $6,000 a year for “membership-based, on-demand, and after-hours access.” An urgent care physician in Atlanta says he’s willing to see patients as many times as they’d like to come in for $100 per month. What the two have in common is a disdain for dealing with health insurance companies and the hope that …

Update: Expiration of COVID Health Emergencies May Be Accelerated (Considerably)

It wasn’t that long ago that we reported various health emergencies declared to help the country cope with the COVID-19 pandemic would be expiring this May. Now the United States Senate has passed a resolution to end the declarations immediately upon President Biden’s signature—which, according to an article published by Becker’s Hospital Review, he’s likely to provide. Different declarations cover different aspects of providing care. For a good overview, check out the summary created by …

The Provider Shortage May Be Both a Curse and a Blessing for Urgent Care

The evolving shortage of primary care providers is a challenge for urgent care operators in the United States, no doubt, but it is also showing to be the catalyst for additional growth within the industry, if the conclusions of a new study from FAIR Health are to be believed. Conversely, the ongoing success of urgent care may also be making it harder for primary care practices to maintain healthy clinical staffing levels. The report notes …