Practice Management
Breaking a 10-month stalemate, WellNow Urgent Care and Excellus BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS) have at last executed a new contract agreement, putting WellNow back in-network as of November 15, 2024, according to an email from WellNow. Excellus insurance plans covered about 300,000 WellNow visits in New York last year. At least 40 centers are located in Central New York where hospital closures in recent years have provided WellNow opportunities to fill gaps in access. “At WellNow …
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Novant Health has completed its acquisition of UCI Medical Affiliates, Inc. (UCI), previously owned by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. The deal includes 52 Doctors Care urgent care clinics and 20 Progressive Physical Therapy clinics. UCI also provides nonmedical management and administrative services specifically for urgent care and physical therapy operators. Charlotte-based Novant has 3 hospitals in South Carolina, so the urgent care additions will no doubt offer some new referral source potential. Staying the …
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In the northern Ohio market, University Hospitals (UH) has paired with WellStreet Urgent Care to open a flurry of UH-branded urgent care centers in suburban locations. Within 2 years, the joint venture is aiming to have 36 UH urgent care centers open across the region—directly competing with the existing 36 centers currently operated by UH rival Cleveland Clinic, according to Cleveland.com. UH has selected sites near its primary care offices to better close the loop …
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Urgent care site selection can be tricky business. Once operators have sized up their addressable market, considered the competition, and estimated the available workforce, opening their doors may seem like a cinch. However, local zoning approvals must figure into site selection strategy as well. Last week, city councilors in Celina, Ohio, voted down a rezoning measure, which ultimately prevented Bon Secours Mercy Health from building a 4,200-square-foot urgent care on a former manufacturing site in …
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Ascension’s Via Christi Hospital in Kansas has acquired K+STAT Urgent Care, according to local WIBW News. While Via Christi is managing all assets and operations as of November 1, K+STAT will continue to see patients in the same location under its established brand. Via Christi has 6 hospitals and 75 care sites in the state. K+STAT is a single-site urgent care directed by 8 board certified family physicians, according to the website, and it’s the …
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A 30-year-old woman presents to urgent care with pain in her lower back and pelvis. She denies any injury or accident that might be causing her pain. She has just returned to full-time work after having a baby. An x-ray is ordered. Review the image and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the following page.
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A 59-year-old male with a past medical history of hypertension presents with dyspnea and pleuritic chest pain in urgent care, and an ECG is obtained. View the ECG captured below and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.
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A 25-year-old man undergoing chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone for acute lymphoblastic leukemia arrives in urgent care because he’s developed a painful, burning palmar eruption. On examination, tender, shiny, erythematous papules and plaques were seen on the palms and fingers as well as the soles of his feet. View the image above and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the following page.
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Urgent Message: Urethral obstruction can occur due to impacted urinary calculi. This etiology should be considered in patients with known or suspected history of kidney stones who present with urinary retention. Point-of-care ultrasound can be used to evaluate for and confirm this diagnosis in male patients, in whom the phenomenon is most likely. Nicholas Maenza, DO; Jeffrey Darko, MD Citation: Maenza N, Darko J. Urinary Retention Caused by a Urethral Stone Diagnosed with Point-of-Care Ultrasound: …
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Urgent Message: There are no consensus definitions for what defines a “positive” urinalysis in the pediatric population. This secondary analysis of data from a quality improvement project in a network of pediatric urgent care centers used a machine learning approach to determine which variables on urinalysis most strongly predict a subsequently positive urine culture. Kari Flicker, BS; Jessica Parrott, DNP, CPNP-PC, CNE; Tammy Speerhas, DNP, FNP-C; Turaj Vazifedan, DHSc; Theresa Guins, MD; Jeffrey Bobrowitz, MD; …
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