Ashley Blachford, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Hydration Spas Lack Medical Oversight, State Regulation

Today’s rapidly expanding hydration and “detox” spas are coming under scrutiny for safety concerns. The spas typically offer vitamin- and fluid-based IV infusions claiming to boost wellness almost completely without evidence. However, most of the hydration spas lack state regulations and operate with little or no medical oversight, according to a recent article in JAMA Internal Medicine. There are about 9,000 such spas in the United States, and researchers found only Alabama, North Carolina, South …

Tramadol Shows Minimal Benefit For Pain

An analysis of 19 randomized placebo-controlled trials with 6,506 participants found the commonly prescribed pain drug tramadol only modestly reduced pain scores for chronic pain—showing improvement of just 0.93 points on a 0–10 numerical scale (97.5% confidence interval [CI], −1.26 to −0.60; p < 0.0001). The effect size fell below a minimal threshold of 1.0 point as defined by the authors. Additionally, serious adverse events were more common with tramadol (odds ratio [OR] 2.13; 97.5% …

CUCM Creates New Opportunity For NP, PA Leadership

The College of Urgent Care Medicine (CUCM) has formed a new special interest group for nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) who practice urgent care medicine. The purpose of the group is to connect NP and PA clinicians in the industry through a professional community to address topics unique to their roles, while amplifying their voices and contributions to patient care and organizational success. The group will promote continuing education, encourage leadership, and support …

Urgent Care Operators Sue Digital Health Platform

More than a dozen urgent care operators across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have filed a federal lawsuit against Solv Health, a platform that hosts a directory of urgent cares with digital features allowing consumers to book appointments. The urgent cares allege in Excel Urgent Care of Astoria PLLC et al. v. Solv Health, Inc. that Solv misrepresented their services, including claims that certain centers did not offer online scheduling when in fact they …

AI Scribes Reduce Workload, Burnout Among Clinicians

In a quality improvement study of 263 ambulatory clinicians across 6 U.S. health systems published in JAMA Network Open, researchers found the use of an ambient AI scribe for 30 days significantly reduced professional burnout and administrative burden. The proportion of clinicians reporting burnout dropped from 51.9% to 38.8% (odds ratio 0.26; 95% confidence interval, 0.13–0.54). Significant improvements were observed in note-related cognitive task load (mean difference 2.64 points on a 10-point scale), focused attention …

Could Health Workers’ Positive COVID Test Signal Forthcoming Surges?

Healthcare workers don’t reliably test for respiratory viruses when they have symptoms, despite their risk for exposure to viruses on the job. From September 2024 to February 2025, 893 healthcare workers in Ireland completed surveys about respiratory symptoms and testing. As reported in Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology, among 321 workers with symptoms, only 202 (63%) participants used self-administered antigen tests for COVID-19. Self-testing had a greater association with female sex, those with a preexisting …

Covenant Expands Urgent Care Footprint

In Tennessee, Covenant Health Urgent Care has acquired 3 independently operated Well-Key Urgent Care centers in the state, bringing the Covenant Health portfolio to a total of 6 urgent cares. This month, the 10-hospital nonprofit also opened a new urgent care rooftop as part of its planned expansion. The organization is one of 6 health system partners of Urgent Care Group. Well-Key was founded by 2 physicians in 2010 and offers urgent care services to …

Prostate Cancer Cases Show Recent Increases, While Mortality Has Improved

Prostate cancer rates have increased in recent years, especially in cases with advanced stages, according to the American Cancer Society as published in its CA flagship journal. Incidence grew at 3.0% annually from 2014 through 2021, just after a period of 6.4% annual decreases from 2007 through 2014. Over the past decade, late-stage disease has increased by 2.6% annually in men younger than 55 years, 6.0% annually in men aged 55–69 years, and 6.2% annually …

Oral Drug Targets Chronic Hives

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved oral remibrutinib, a new drug product, as a second-line treatment for chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). Remibrutinib has a unique mechanism to block the activity of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK), stopping a key pathway of the immune response in CSU, according to a manufacturer press release. The condition is thought to be caused by immune dysregulation, and it is believed that once activated, BTK leads to the release …

Only Physicians Can Be Called “Doctor” In California

In California, a judge has ruled that nurses, nurse practitioners, and other clinical professionals with doctorate degrees cannot refer to themselves as “doctors.” Only physicians and surgeons can use the word “doctor” or the title “Dr.” before their names. The American Medical Association and other professional organizations have long held that only those with MD or DO credentials should be labeled as “doctors” to avoid confusion or misperception by patients. Who are you? This highly …

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