Practice Management
Emergency department (ED) visits have been on an upward trend in the United States. A retrospective analysis of visit data from the National Center for Health Statistics published in Cureus found a consistent increase in overall ED visits among adults within the previous 12 months from 1999 to 2019. The prevalence of ED visits ranged from 17.2% +/- 0.3% in 1999 to 21.7% +/- 0.3% in 2019 with slightly higher visit rates among females than …
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The emergency room presents bit of a paradox for many cancer patients, according to a new article published in the journal Oncology Nurse Advisor: A trip to the ED is risky for anyone with a compromised immune system—which would apply to many oncology patients—but at the same time cancer and related treatment can cause a seemingly endless list of complications that require immediate attention. “Visiting the ED is often a portal to hospitalization for these …
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More than one insurer has tried to dissuade plan members from going to the emergency room by threatening to stick them with the bill if their visit proves (after the fact) to have been nonemergent. The urgent care industry has also put a good deal of effort into trying to educate the public as to when they really need to be in the ED and when it makes more sense, both logistically and economically, to …
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To the average consumer, the key similarity between the urgent care center and the emergency room is plain to see: you get to see a doctor without an appointment. That’s deceptively simple, however, and doesn’t take into account relative wait times, cost to the patient and the insurer, whether the complaint is truly emergent, and the overall implications of going to the ED when it’s not necessary. FastMed Urgent Care, which owns and operates 109 …
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It may come as no surprise to healthcare industry veterans, but there are fresh data that shed new light on greater utilization of emergency rooms by pediatric patients in neighborhoods viewed as disadvantaged. Statistically, kids who live in “low opportunity” areas are roughly 33% more likely to visit an urgent care center or the ED than children who grow up elsewhere. It’s not just scratchy throats and sudden fevers sending them there, either; the less-advantaged …
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Shortening duration of treatment, adopting a multimodal, nonopioid model for acute pain management treatment, and establishing a system for notifying primary care providers when their patients are prescribed opiates are high on the list of recommendations just issued by the Texas Hospital Association (THA) for emergency room clinicians. While the guidelines are voluntary, they reflect a growing trend toward institutionalizing opiate prescribing practices in multiple settings around the country. They could reasonably be viewed as …
Read MoreWe all know urgent care has been growing steadily, nearly since its inception. Hard data on the size of the marketplace can be hard to come by, though, as different sources apply varying definitions of what exactly constitutes an urgent care center. Similarly, we know proper utilization of urgent care services has tremendous potential to lower healthcare costs compared with visits to the emergency room. Again, though, the details can be hard to put a …
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Like many facilities across the country, Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith, AR wrestles with overcrowding in the emergency room, especially during flu season. In addition to higher patient volume, resources are further stretched due to staff calling in sick in greater numbers. The administration is dealing with the crisis by employing all available resources, including making the most of the flexibility of the urgent care model. Mercy has dedicated one location specifically to patients presenting …
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The growing geriatric population in the U.S. and increasing demand for convenient and cost-effective care worldwide will be key in the continued growth of the global urgent care market—pushing its overall value to $30.5 billion by 2020, according to a new report from Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE). Urgent Care Centers Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2017–2020 cautions that the physician shortage being experienced in multiple practice settings, …
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Pardee UNC Health Care in North Carolina and WVU Medicine in West Virginia are among the hospitals and systems advising area residents to make full use of local urgent care centers as flu cases mount, slamming emergency rooms with more visitors than they can handle efficiently. Pardee is pleading with area residents who have flu-like symptoms—or any non–life-threatening complaint—to stay away from the ED and instead visit one of its urgent care facilities. In getting …
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