Urgent care insiders know our industry continues to grow and evolve, and understand that convenience, cost, and quality of care are what keeps patients coming back. Data from outside the industry diving a bit deeper into the “why” of patient volume has been a bit scarce, however. A Harris Poll commissioned by Mercy Health System of Southeastern Pennsylvania takes a step toward remedying that shortage, however. Not surprisingly, a strong majority (66%) of the 1,700 …
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Connecticut Tries (Again) to Regulate Urgent Care Centers
Connecticut lawmakers apparently think “If at first you don’t succeed…” is the perfect approach to slapping licensing fees on the urgent care industry. Democrats in the state House of Representatives have inserted a provision in the current proposed budget that would require all urgent care centers there to carry a distinct license. The problem (for them) is, they don’t have an abiding definition of what constitutes an urgent care center. Currently, the law views urgent …
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Wellmont Wants to Align Urgent Care Centers More Closely with Other Facilities
Wellmont Health System is taking a hard look at how it can integrate services among its urgent care centers and hospital facilities. The company has announced a goal of having an urgent care center within 30 minutes of every patient in its region. It’s noteworthy that Wellmont views distance between the urgent care center and the patient (and not the nearest hospital) to be of key importance. Given the trend toward viewing urgent care centers …
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The Red-Hot Joint
Urgent message: Septic arthritis can lead to significant morbidity if not treated in a timely manner. Bacteria within the synovial space can lead to rapid joint destruction and irreversible loss of function. When patients present to the urgent care center with a red, hot, swollen, painful joint, every attempt must be made to rule out this disease entity to prevent significant morbidity and mortality. Introduction Patients frequently present to urgent care with a red, swollen, …
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Taking a Cue from OpenTable—for Urgent Care ‘Appointments’
Some of the masterminds behind Uber, Trulia, and OpenTable have set their sights on the urgent care marketplace—not to start operating clinics, but by facilitating patient visits. Solv launched recently with an aim to make “booking” urgent care time in a way similar to how diners use OpenTable to book tables in a restaurant. The company, led by former Trulia executives Heather Mirjahangir Fernandez and Daniele Farnedi, got $6.25 million in funding from Benchmark Capital, …
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Check with Counsel on 2017 Employment Law Updates
New state and local laws will take effect come the New Year all around the country. In Illinois, for example, one new law pertains to urgent care centers, specifically; it mandates that all locations display notices regarding human trafficking in a conspicuous place. More broadly, urgent care operations that provide occupational medicine services will certainly need to keep abreast of legal requirements in the states and municipalities where they practice, but all urgent care companies …
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Painful Nose Crusting in a Child
Urgent message: Common nasal infections can have serious health consequences if not quickly diagnosed and treated. Introduction Both children and adults present to urgent care centers with nasal pain. Infectious causes of such pain include impetigo, furuncles, and nasal vestibulitis (NV). Noninfectious causes include squamous cell cancer and lupus vulgaris. A careful physical examination and a thorough medical history can allow the health-care provider to rule out more serious conditions or to transfer the patient …
Read MoreIncome Tax Liability from Phantom Income
Urgent message: How physician and entrepreneur investors structure their urgent care center may expose them to an income tax liability from phantom income, but there are steps they can take to ensure there are sufficient funds to cover it. Introduction Income taxes are one of life’s certainties for most working Americans. Typically, however, income taxes are paid only on cash received during the course of a year. For example, a Form W-2 received by an …
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More Hospitals Are Buying Physician Practices
Hospital ownership of physician practices—including urgent care centers—has jumped a whopping 86% in just 4 years, according to new data from the Physicians Advocacy Institute. That means one out of every four practices is now owned by a hospital, overall. For hospitals, owning practices not physically connected to their facility allows them to keep patients “in the family” even when they’re not on campus, which also allows them to keep fees in-house as well of …
Read MoreHIPAA-Compliant Disposal of Office Equipment Containing Personal Health Information
Urgent message: Urgent care centers must dispose of fully depreciated office equipment such as computers, copiers, fax machines, and telephones containing protected health information in a manner that complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. How this column helps you: gives you guidelines for protecting your patients’ privacy. Introduction Since 2009, 42 million patients have been affected by privacy breaches entailing their protected health information (PHI).1 Many of these breaches stem from the …
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