Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Ensure Patient Safety—and Minimize Liability Risk—in Every Encounter

A situation brewing in Nebraska should serve as a cautionary tale for ensuring patients are safe at all times—and minimizing liability risk for all urgent care operators. A physician in Lincoln, NE has been accused of carrying out unnecessary, invasive physical exams of a female recruit to the Nebraska State Patrol. A state senator there plans to submit a formal complaint to state regulators and medical associations against the provider, after a female trooper filed …

Eclipse Tourism Sparks Urgent Care Staffing Changes

Citizens from coast to coast will have a rare opportunity to witness a total solar eclipse on August 21. States directly in its 70-mile-wide path—Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina—are bracing for a massive influx of sky watchers intent on witnessing the phenomenon. Urgent care centers are shoring up their staffing in response. For example, Oregon’s St. Charles Health System is bringing in extra staff from …

Hospital Systems Make Their Urgent Care Presence Known Around Town

Urgent care operators have been making a splash by revamping existing retail spaces and restaurants into urgent care centers. Now hospital systems seeking to make inroads in the industry are doing the same. Around Indiana, for example, Indiana University Health is opening up centers in old bank branches; Community Health Network is setting up shop in a strip mall; and Franciscan ExpressCare is actually clearing some space for a clinic in an apartment-and-retail complex, hoping …

CDC Update on Antibiotics Embraces Role of Urgent Care

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2017 report Antibiotic Use in the United States: Progress and Opportunities embraces urgent care as an active participant in both healthcare delivery and antibiotic stewardship more than ever before. The CDC notes that urgent care has experienced “tremendous growth” and that continuing to incorporate antibiotic stewardship as a core value “will be an important factor in optimizing antibiotic use.” To support those efforts, the CDC put together The …

Do You Understand the Three Different Reimbursement Methods for Urgent Care?

Urgent message: Payment models seem to evolve as quickly as the urgent care markets itself. Keeping up to speed is essential for continued growth in revenue—if not survival. Here, we weigh the relative merits of some of the most common reimbursement models. The way urgent care providers deliver healthcare continues to evolve, and with it the ways in which providers collect reimbursement for their services. To keep an urgent care practice financially healthy, it’s vital …

Confusion and Delay Over Healthcare Bill Present an Opportunity for Telemedicine

Rancor over how—or even whether—to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”) doesn’t stop everyday people from needing good, immediate care they can afford. Urgent care often fits the bill, but even that may not be convenient enough for some patients; a new study from the Health Resources and Services Association (HRSA) shows that 20% of Americans live in rural areas—where only 11% of physicians practice. In such situations, telemedicine could be the best …

Start Beating the Back-to-School Vaccination Drum Now

Lots of families are just heading out for summer vacation these days, which means they probably haven’t even considered whether children have all the vaccinations they need before going back to school. That gives you the perfect opportunity to remind them. The next time a child comes in for care, make sure you know their vaccine status—and what’s required based on their age, guidelines, and state law. Helping patients understand your role as a public …

Most Kids in Anaphylaxis Have No Treatment Before Presenting to Urgent Care or ED

Barely more than a third of children brought to an urgent care center or emergency room with anaphylaxis have received epinephrine before arriving, according to a new study published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. According to the report, which reflects the cases of 408 children with an average age of 7.25 years, just 36% of the patients had received epinephrine before reporting to an urgent care center or ED. The odds were …

Cigna Moves to Keep Members Away from Urgent Care

Cigna is collaborating with CVS Health to push members into retail clinics instead of visiting urgent care centers when they have immediate, nonemergent medical needs. The company claims that around 45% of urgent care visits could be handled in drugstore clinics—at a savings of 81% per visit for Cigna. The problem? Cigna’s data highlight the minority of patients seeking care. The majority (55%) could not be treated sufficiently in the retail setting, meaning they’d end …

Outreach is Key in Attracting New Patients

Announcing that the high school football season is a month and a half away isn’t likely to draw much attention. However, noting that scholastic athletes will have to get their physicals done early in anticipation of practice starting—especially if you run an urgent care centers that’s offering a discount on preseason check-ups—could increase a center’s visibility and even draw in patients who may have never visited before. Sisters of Mercy Urgent Care, in North Carolina, …