Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Over Half of Kaiser Permanente Member–Physician Encounters Are Now Virtual

Kaiser Permanente’s heavy investment in information technology seems to be paying off, as more than half of the insurer’s 100 million-plus member–physician interactions now take place virtually. Members have said they appreciate the convenience of being able to “see” a doctor outside the office, reflecting broader trends toward healthcare consumerism (especially among young adults). The fact that 95% of Kaiser Permanente members are covered on a capitated basis frees network physicians from worries other clinicians …

AMA Aims to Help Med Students Work with EHRs

The American Medical Association wants to help medical students deal with the reality of working within electronic health record (EHR) systems. They launched a new program, the brainchild of Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, to grant med students access to misidentified and deidentified EHR information in the classroom before they enter clerkships in order to address a gap between clinical medical education and practical skills needed in the practice setting. The …

Video Care—the Next Best Thing to Being There?

While there’s no way to apply stitches, start an IV, or cast a patient remotely, virtual visits may be just fine for many complaints that drive people to urgent care. A new study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research shows that outcomes—defined as the need for follow-up visits for the same complaint—for some common diagnoses were no different between patients seen in person or via video hookup. In fact, that standard was met …

Report is a Wakeup Call to Beef Up Data Security

About a quarter of all healthcare consumers have been the victims of healthcare data breaches, according to a new study by Accenture—and nearly have of those people ended up victims of medical identity theft. The cost? On average, $2,500 in out-of-pocket costs per incident, paid by the victim. Breaches were most likely to occur in hospitals, though urgent care centers, pharmacies, physician offices, and health insurers were also fertile ground for hackers and identity thieves. …

For Safety’s Sake, Don’t ‘Copy-and-Paste’ in EHRs

The dangers of copy-and-paste functionality in electronic health records outweigh the benefits of convenience, according to a new report by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology in conjunction with ECRI and the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command. Interviews with physicians and nurses using the military’s AHLTA EHR uncovered a “high potential risk of entering wrong information in the wrong chart” when copying-and-pasting. One common error cited in the report: Clinicians forget to …

Secure Your Practice Against Cyberattacks: Video Post #2

Earlier this week, we brought you new data concerning ransomware cyberattacks on small businesses—and how to avoid falling prey to one. In the second segment of our three-part series, Randall Dennis, cybersecurity expert and COO of Guidance Partners, explains the various categories of cyberattacks and what steps you can take to thwart efforts to steal and exploit sensitive business and patient information. Dennis says cyberattacks on small and medium-sized businesses are on the rise, with over …

Remote Check-in May Take the ‘Wait’ Out of the Urgent Care Waiting Room

Even urgent care centers, known for their ability to get patients in and out far more efficiently than other settings, can seem too slow for some patients on a given day. New technologies are improving systems all the time, though, making it possible for patients to cut the time of an urgent care visit even further. For one, PhysicianOne Urgent Care offers patients the chance to view the current wait time at any of its …

Time for Urgent Care to Embrace Telemedicine

Being an industry populated by medical professionals who also happen to be forward-thinking business visionaries, urgent care is likely to see accelerated growth in telemedicine in 2017 and beyond. Conversely, operators who don’t see the benefit run the risk of getting left in the dust, as even large healthcare businesses and networks—typically, slower to adopt new practices than entrepreneurial types—are forging ahead in offering virtual visits. Occupational medicine giant Concentra just announced it is adding …

Is Your Mouse Keeping You from Spending More Time with Patients?

Suneel Dhand, MD has seen the future—and it does not include small desktop gizmos that you have to scroll, click or otherwise manipulate at the risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome. Writing for the blog KevinMD, Dhand says the increasing popularity of devices with touchscreens (ie, smartphones and tablets), and even touch pads on laptop computers, could spell the demise of the traditional mouse. Why does a physician care? Here’s why: Dhand contends that the …

Guard Against ‘Ransomware’ Attacks by Checking Your Security Systems

An urgent care center in Oxford, MS had to tell some 58,000 patients their personal health and credit card information may have been compromised in a “ransomware” attack—after the operator also agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to the cyber pirates who carried out the act. Concerns started when computer systems started running dramatically slower without explanation. Soon after, the servers were completely taken over by parties beyond the clinic’s walls; control was not restored …