Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

More Healthcare System Hacks Indicate a Need for More Focus on Cybersecurity

At least 17 health systems—many of whom include urgent care operations among their clinical assets—from New Hampshire to Los Angeles are wrestling with the aftermath of a major cyberattack launched the Russian hacker group Killnet, according to the technology company BetterCyber. Both University of Michigan Health and Atrium Health toldBecker’s Hospital Review that patient information and portals were not compromised, but the fact that any breach at all succeeded is cause for concern. This latest …

Retailers Cut Pharmacist Hours While Seeking More Clinical Authority. How Is That Supposed to Work?

Just last week we told you that Montana is the latest U.S. state to consider granting pharmacists more authority to prescribe medications directly to patients in certain circumstances. Physician groups have protested, suggesting that the difference in training pharmacists receive vs what physicians and advanced-practice providers go through makes that prospect a patient-safety issue. There’s another, more basic question, though: How are pharmacists supposed to handle yet another important task when they’re already stretched to …

Provider Burnout Is Worse Than Ever (and We Can’t Pin All the Blame on the Pandemic)

As JUCM and JUCM News readers know, the COVID-19 pandemic ratcheted up already-high risk for burnout among urgent care providers. However, new data published in Medscape’s U.S. Physician Burnout & Depression Report 2023 suggest it would be a mistake to assume that as the burden of SARS-CoV-2 cases continues to wane, so will provider burnout. The report acknowledges that rates of burnout have increased by 26% since 2018, but survey responses indicate that there are …

The Evidence Is in: Making Urgent Care Voices Heard Works

When the Northeast Regional Urgent Care Association Government Affairs team recognized the hazards that proposed legislation in New York posed for urgent care, they jumped into action to mobilize members to speak out. And it worked. According to a mass email from NERUCA Government Affairs Chair Jonathan S. Halpert, MD, FACEP to members and urgent care stakeholders, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office received thousands of telephone calls and emails protesting a proposed bill that …

Does Concentra’s New Acquisition Foreshadow a New Era for UC and Occ Med?

On the surface, it seems like the kind of event that has become commonplace in urgent care: A large, national company buys an existing business, or a piece of one, to bolster its presence and profitability. Concentra’s acquisition of PhysicianOne’s occupational health business in Connecticut could have more far-reaching implications for the industry as a whole, however. With high workers compensation fees, robust volume, and a dense footprint, Connecticut is already one of the most …

Update: Another—and Unlikely—Retailer Moves Closer to Offering Walk-In Care

First they hired a physician to serve as chief medical officer. Then they brought on another MD who had previously served as CMO for Walgreens. Now they’re sending out vans to store parking lots, where healthcare providers will offer many services typically available in drugstore clinics and urgent care centers. We should mention that the “they” in those sentences does not refer to an up-and-coming pharmacy clinic provider or a big-box store. It refers to …

To Connect with Gen Z Patients, It Helps to Know What They Want from Healthcare Providers

Much is made of differences perceived among patients born into one generation or another—Gen Xers do this, Millennials don’t want that…. There’s more to it than simplified stereotypes, though. According to an article recently published by Becker’s Hospital Review, reaching Generation Z patients and motivating them to visit urgent care when they have healthcare needs may require you to adapt your offerings, or at least your messaging. Drawn from research conducted by the management consulting …

Update: Another State Takes a Hard Look at Pharmacist Prescribing

Montana has joined the growing number of states to consider expanding the authority pharmacists have to make clinical decisions and direct care. As reported by Kaiser Health News, the state’s Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee recommended a bill that would allow pharmacists to generate and supply prescription refills, along with originating prescriptions for medications and devices in certain situations. The bill has gained support on the rationale that, like many areas, Montana is …

A Comparison of Chief Complaints, Specific Diagnoses, and Demographics of Pediatric Urgent Care Visits Before and During the COVID- 19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Study

Zaharoula A. Viennas, MD; Julie Martin, MAEd, MMS, PA-C; Benjamin Klick, MD; Tammy Speerhas, DNP, FNP-C, RN, CEN, CME; Turaj Vazifedan, DHSc; Danielle Millspaugh, DNP, FNP-C; Jennifer Ferris, MD; Margret Bedle, MD; Lauren Paluch, DMSc, PA-C; and Theresa Guins, MD Urgent message: Research has shown distinct differences in patterns of children presenting to emergency rooms during COVID-related lockdowns. However, data specific to urgent care have been lacking previously. Citation: Viennas ZA, Martin J, Klick B, …

When Things That ‘Could Never Happen’ Do Happen, You Must Have a Plan

We’re no mathematicians, but the odds of a vehicle crashing through the front door of an urgent care center have go to be awfully slim. And yet, it happens—very recently in Tiffin, OH, in fact. As reported by The Advertiser-Tribune there, a driver hit the accelerator instead of the brake when pulling into a parking space in front of the clinic. No one was injured. However, believe it or not, in addition to having to …