Industry perception is that urgent care offers the opportunity for potentially substantial cost savings while also providing safe, effective care for complaints of appropriate acuity. Data supporting those claims have been lacking, however.
Patients with special needs may offer particular challenges for urgent care providers and front desk staff. Communication, for example, can be difficult when working with individuals on the autism spectrum. Recognizing this, Heavens Urgent Care in Apache Junction, AZ has ensured that every staff member be trained to “better identify, communicate, and treat patients who may be autistic and need adjustments to their clinical experience or treatment."
PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, WA has been so inundated with patients lately that its administrators have taken to local media to urge patients to carefully assess their complaints and consider whether they really need to visit the emergency room—with a recommendation that if the answer is No, they instead head for the most convenient urgent care center or a primary care practice.
Abstracts in Urgent Care for May 2022, including Immobilizing Ankle Fractures, Treating Septic Olecranon Bursitis, and EKG Interpretation: Human vs Machine
Many urgent care operators took full advantage of opportunities to serve their communities during the pandemic, accumulating cash in the process. While many question what comes next, there’s no better time to grow your own urgent care business.
With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently adapting its stance on wearing masks in public to reduce risk for spreading COVID-19, urgent care operators are already using the new guidance to review their own practices and procedures. They’re also being encouraged to do so by fluctuations in patient volume. Tomah Health in Wisconsin, for example, is reopening its urgent care facility after closing it in January due to overwhelming COVID-19 cases in its hospital units.
This overview of trends and technologies in radiology artificial intelligence (A.I.) applications in 2021. Views were shared by 11 radiologists using A.I. and industry leaders, which include:
• Randy Hicks, M.D., MBA, radiologist and CEO of Reginal Medical Imaging (RMI), and an iCAD Profound A.I. user.
• Prof. Dr. Thomas Frauenfelder, University of Zurich, Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, and Riverain A.I. user.
“It’s lonely being the defendant in a medical malpractice case.” Truer words were never spoken. At some point in our careers, the majority of us will be named in a medical negligence case. The unfortunate reality is that medicolegal issues will arise as a part of our professional lives along with a multitude of negative emotions (which inevitably spill over into our personal lives) when we stand accused.
Urgent care centers can execute and implement innovative ideas to ameliorate overcrowded Emergency Rooms. The creation of a mobile health diversion program to transport low acuity conditions to urgent care instead of a hospital emergency department can improve population health and reduce healthcare cost; providing the opportunity to leverage value-based care by targeting the triple aim (reducing cost, increasing patient satisfaction, and improving outcomes) while freeing up the emergency medical system services.
Whether an urgent care must have a provider on-site during all operating hours comes down to the operator’s risk tolerance. As a matter of patient safety, many urgent care centers have adopted a policy that if no provider is on-site, they must lock the doors and refuse entry of any patients. As a result, patients wait outside before the center opens—even if it opens later than scheduled—and the center closes any time the provider is unavailable.
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