Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

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 …

Texan Business Leaders Call for Fewer Restrictions on Telemedicine

The Texas Association of Business—the state’s chamber of commerce, essentially—is pushing lawmakers to come up with a bill that would allow more patients to use telemedicine. The TAB says the move is necessary after a decade of rising healthcare premiums and deductibles, which has increased the burden both on its members and their employees. Loosening restrictions on telemedicine has seen opposition from the physician-led Texas Medical Board, whose efforts have seen to it that the …

NJ Lawmakers Take a Closer Look at Telemedicine

Legislators in New Jersey are weighing the relative benefits of telemedicine in order to ensure the evolving technology is used properly—namely, that there’s no danger of virtual doctor visits taking the place of in-person care then the latter is clearly needed. Advocates point out that sometimes patients need to see a physician after even urgent care centers have close, though their symptoms don’t warrant an expensive trip to the emergency room. Detractors say some patients …

October 2016

Cost Benefit Becoming Key for Employers Eying Telemedicine

Previous analysis of how viable telemedicine could become has focused on providing access for residents of underserved rural areas and cutting down on lost productivity time for employees. Now, with state legislatures around the country approving laws that demand parity for telemedicine, employers and payers are looking more closely at the economics of offering coverage for remote physician encounters. IHS Technology projects that annual spending on telehealth will rise to $2.2 billion in 2018, up …

Study Shows Attributes of Telemedicine and Urgent Care Are Well Aligned

Name a rapidly expanding healthcare industry offering care that’s convenient, fast, and relatively low cost. “Urgent care” is the easy answer, so if you said “telemedicine” you get bonus points. National Business Group (NBG) predicted months ago that employers would continue warming to the idea and that many more would start offering telemedicine benefits; now it’s confirmed that 74% are doing so, up from 48% just last year. NBG also broke down what employers value …

NEJM: Three Trends Fueling Growth of Telemedicine

Urgent care centers that are dipping a toe into the telehealth pool may be helping to set standards that will become common practice in years to come. A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine predicts that telehealth will continue to grow, becoming more prevalent in teaching hospitals and opening the door for better chronic disease management. The article identifies three trends fueling its growth: Transformation from an application that increases access to …

Telemedicine Dips a Toe in the Deep End of the Urgent Care Pool

FastMed Urgent Care has become the biggest urgent care provider in the country to offer patients telemedicine services. The company has partnered with TouchCare to start taking mobile video appointments in North Carolina, via smartphone or tablet. If all goes well there, FastMed plans to offer similar service in Arizona and Texas later this year. The company says it has a distinct advantage over virtual-only services because patients can start with a remote visit but …

Urgent Care Take Note: Insurers Are Warming to Telemedicine

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is the latest big insurer to start encouraging telemedicine for plan members with relatively minor complaints. As of July 1, BCBS will be working with American Well to offer the service to employers with fully insured and PPO policies. Plans see the new technology as a way to reduce costs—mainly by keeping patients out of the emergency room, which aligns perfectly with the urgent care approach—and to meet consumer …