Practice Management
Can Large Language Models Help in Assessing Acuity of Patients Presenting to ED? Take Home Point: Integration of large language models (LLMs) in the emergency department (ED) could enhance triage processes. This warrants further investigation particularly in the urgent care (UC) space. Citation: Williams C, Zack T, Miao B, et. al. Use of a Large Language Model to Assess Clinical Acuity of Adults in the Emergency Department. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 May 1;7(5): e248895. doi: …
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Urgent Message: Patients with a moderate-risk HEART score referred from an urgent care center for an expedited outpatient cardiology evaluation were found to have a very low rate of MACE and no occurrence of ischemic cardiac deaths. Citation: Thomson N, Barbarash S, Lebron-Gallagher D, Julson H, Weinstock M. Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Chest Pain And Moderate Heart Risk Scores Who Were Referred For An Expedited Outpatient Cardiology Evaluation: A Multi-Center Descriptive Study. …
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A 47-year-old man presents to urgent care after trying out a new cardio boxing class at the local recreation center. He indicates that his right hand has been hurting ever since he hit a punching bag this morning, and the pain has been getting worse. X-rays are ordered, both anterior posterior (AP) and oblique views. Review the images and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on …
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In 2023, the median emergency department (ED) visit time among U.S. hospitals was 163 minutes, an increase of just 1 minute over the previous year, according to new data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as reported by Becker’s. The latest dataset covers ED visits recorded from October 2022 through September 2023. Delta Health System’s Medical Center in Greenville, Mississippi, tops the list of hospitals or health systems with the longest median …
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For those willing to pay extra for faster access to care and essentially more of the clinician’s time, concierge models can offer patients enhanced convenience and personal attention beyond the traditional 15-minute primary care office visit. Now concierge medicine programs are springing up on college campuses, according to Axios. Programs are no doubt marketed to nervous parents who worry about their child being away from home and who likewise may be concerned about the quality …
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The for-profit Ardent Health system closed its initial public offering about a month ago and said in a press release that it intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for working capital and to acquire complementary businesses. As it turns out, Ardent is targeting urgent care investment as its “most immediate focus” for the second half of the year—both de novo and acquisition deals—according to Modern Healthcare. Already this year, the organization has …
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A proposed bill in California aims to increase oversight of investments in healthcare by requiring private equity (PE) firms and hedge funds to notify the attorney general proactively to obtain approval of certain transactions, according to Kaiser Health News. The bill also reinforces existing state laws that prohibit nonphysicians from directly employing doctors or managing their activities. The proposed policy comes as PE dealings in healthcare are facing added scrutiny nationwide with growing concerns that …
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COVID-19’s summer surge has taken many urgent care centers by surprise. Respiratory viruses usually ramp up in October and continue on through late winter. However, record-high heat across the country could be driving more people to cool off indoors where the virus is more likely to spread. As of August 6, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that COVID-19 infections are growing or likely growing in 32 states. Meanwhile, the reported weekly positivity …
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According to the Department of Justice, Azhar Shakeel, MD, has settled with state and federal agencies for $619,994 to resolve a False Claims Act violation. Shakeel, who owns and operates Urgent Care of Muskogee, Urgent Care of Checotah, and Muskogee Medical Care in Oklahoma, allegedly submitted claims to several federally funded healthcare programs during times in which it was believed he was not actually in the centers seeing patients. A department press release notes that …
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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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