Ashley Blachford, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Abstracts in Urgent Care – February 2024

Predicting Which Patients Need an X-Ray Before Attempting Shoulder Reduction Take Home Point: In this study, the Fresno-Québec Rule showed excellent sensitivity in identifying concomitant clinically significant fractures in patients with anterior shoulder dislocations. Citation: Benhamed A, Bonnet M, Miossec A, et. al. Performance of the Fresno-Quebec Rule in identifying patients with concomitant fractures not requiring a radiograph before shoulder dislocation reduction: a multicenter retrospective cohort study. Eur J Emerg Med. 2023 Dec 1;30(6):438-444. doi: …

What’s In It For Me?

Do you remember what it was like in the summer of 2020? If that summer had a theme, it would have been “overlooked.” Everyone was jumping up and down and waving their arms to get the attention of suppliers, government agencies, payers, diagnostic companies, and pharmaceutical companies so we could meet the needs of the patients literally lining up in front of our centers. We had to fight for every single thing we got, and …

Case Report of Renal Cell Carcinoma Presenting to Urgent Care with Indolent Back Pain: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Urgent message: Although back pain is often due to benign etiologies, symptoms of progressive pain, weakness, and near syncope in one patient ultimately led to a diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma. Citation: Hamazaspyan A, Kedia A, Weinstock M. Case Report of Renal Cell Carcinoma Presenting to Urgent Care with Indolent Back Pain: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. J Urgent Care Med. 2024;18(5): 17-22. Anahit Hamazaspyan DO; Ayush Kedia DO; Michael Weinstock MD Abstract Introduction Back …

Which IV Infusion Services are Most Appropriate for Urgent Care?

Urgent Message: When offered as a medical service consistent with an urgent care center’s branding, IV infusion services can enable new revenue streams and expand the center’s appeal to a new base of patients. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc According to the Urgent Care Association (UCA), the capability to administer intravenous (IV) medications is a defining feature of urgent care.1 Along with x-ray services and suturing, the availability of IV treatment differentiates urgent care from …

Updates on Sports Related Concussion from the 6th International Conference on Concussion in Sport

Over the last 20 years, the Concussion in Sport Group has met periodically to develop statements guiding the assessment and management of sports related concussions. The most recent meeting of the group took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in October 2022 and produced updated and freely available, evidence-informed tools to assist in the detection and assessment of sports related concussion (SRC). These tools include: the Concussion Recognition Tool-6 (CRT6); Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-6 (SCAT6); Child SCAT6; …

Our Success in Urgent Care is Defined by How We Play Our ‘Greatest Hits’

Recently one evening, I meandered into a bar on iconic 6th Street in Austin, Texas— America’s epicenter for live music. Venues throughout the district feature free, live performances every night from some of the nation’s most talented musicians. On that particular evening, however, the sounds from one electric guitar coming from a small stage in a dark room cut through the humid air and grabbed my attention. I wandered in, found a seat at the …

Robust Urgent Care De Novo Growth Continues

The urgent care industry continues to add de novo centers, according to data from Experity and National Urgent Care Realty. Although de novo growth slowed in 2023 by 5%, 2023 de novos are still 16% higher than 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. In addition to continued overall growth of the industry, the data indicates structural changes in who is opening de novos. A “de novo” urgent care refers to a center that did not previously …

How to Survive a Payer Review

Benjamin Barlow, MD; Phyllis Dobberstein, CPC, CPMA, CPCO, CEMC, CCC One of the biggest challenges facing urgent care operators is increased scrutiny in the form of payer reviews. More clients than ever are facing these administrative and financial burdens. Compounding the issue is that urgent care clinicians often struggle to understand coding guidelines and how to document in a way that shows their medical decision making, which is vital in care and in payer reviews. Prepayment …

Join the Bouncebacks! Book Club to Discuss a Critical Case

On February 5, 2024, the Bouncebacks! book club will talk through a new case from the book “Bouncebacks! Critical Care” (published in 2021) from 8PM to 9PM (Eastern) in a virtual meeting room. Fellow clinicians can join in the discussion of a case of a 52-year-old man with alcohol use disorder and chest pain. All the related information will be presented, and ownership of the book is not required to participate. Panelists include Heath Jolliff, …

Protective Effect Against HPV Seen in Vaccinated Generation

New long-term data shows the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine introduced in 2006 to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer in women is having its intended effect. An observational study of 447,845 women in Scotland born between 1988 and 1996 revealed there were no cases of cervical cancer found among those who received the vaccine at age 12 or 13—even if the patient did not receive all 3 of the recommended doses. Those who were immunized …