Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Yale Study Shows ‘Surprise’ Bills Still Common After a Trip to the ED

Though much maligned in the press and the subject of legislation in a number of states, “surprise” bills are still an issue for patients after a trip to their local emergency room. In fact, a new study by Yale researchers published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that nearly a quarter of in-network ED visits can be followed by a bill from an out-of-network doctor. The authors considered claims for more than 2 …

Retail Clinics Don't Help Clear Traffic in the ED

New data published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine definitively show that retail clinics located near hospitals do nothing to reduce the number of visits to the emergency room. Proponents of drugstore, grocery, and “big box store” clinics have suggested in the past that offering walk-in care in a retail setting would keep patients with low-acuity complaints out of the ED, but apparently many patients don’t see it that way. The Annals report focused on …

Let the Community Know You Can Handle Eye Injuries

Whether you have a slit lamp or not, it’s likely you see a fair number of patients presenting with eye-related complaints. If you don’t, you may be stuck referring most of those patients out. If you do have a slit lamp—and staff properly trained to use it—you need to make sure athletes and youth coaches and administrators in your area know you can provide urgent eye care when needed. Roughly 120,000 people presented to EDs …