Practice Management
Data suggests that many people who use GLP-1 drugs semaglutide and liraglutide to treat obesity and diabetes are not staying on their weight-loss plans as long as what is recommended, according to an issue brief from Blue Health Intelligence. Typically, 12 weeks is the accepted guideline for achieving meaningful weight loss. Yet, an analysis of claims from 170,000 plan members found that about 58% of people using GLP-1 medications were on their treatment plan for …
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Presentations of kidney stones tends to increase during summer when rising temperatures and higher humidity lead to dehydration, according to a news item in USA Today. Climate change might be a big-picture factor in the rising rates of kidney stones, but an individual’s dietary choices are also likely contributing to the increase, according to a source quoted in the news item. A study published a year ago in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases found …
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Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported by ABC News shows a significant rise in whooping cough cases across the United States. This year, 4,864 cases have been reported, nearly triple the 1,746 cases recorded at the same time last year. However, the recent case numbers are comparable to 2018-2019, before the COVID-19 era. In Oregon, the local health authority reported 178 cases as of May 29, marking a 770% increase from …
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week released new clinical guidelines on the use of doxycycline postexposure prophylaxis (doxy PEP) for bacterial sexually transmitted infection prevention. In part, CDC’s recommendations include the use of doxy PEP for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) who have had a bacterial sexually transmitted infections diagnosed in the past 12 months as part of provider shared decision-making. …
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The Department of Health and Human Services is monitoring the ongoing fallout from the Change Healthcare cyberattack and has launched a dynamic website that will be updated as information emerges. In addition, Change Healthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group (UHG), is now essentially tasked with sending out the required HIPAA breach notifications to patients and completing related administrative requirements on behalf of any provider that was affected. Federal officials at the Office for Civil Rights ruled …
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Researchers have identified local heat waves as a factor that can lead to an increased risk of preterm birth and stillbirth, according to a cohort study published in JAMA Network Open. Authors found a significant link between periods of high temperatures in some of the top metropolitan statistical areas in the United States and early deliveries. Looking at 53 million births from 1993 to 2017, they concluded that after 4 consecutive days of mean temperatures …
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has asked state health officials to keep up with flu surveillance over the summer to watch for human-to-human spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus, according to CIDRAP. Flu surveillance generally wanes during the warmer months when there are fewer seasonal flu virus cases. H5N1 vaccines exist, but the nation is far from ready for a full-scale national vaccine program should the virus become a widespread health …
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Urgent Message: Patients discharged from an urgent care clinic with tachycardia were found to have significantly higher odds of return visits to the urgent care and emergency department as well as higher odds of being admitted to the hospital within 7 days compared to non-tachycardic patients. Vitoria Regina Nunes Maia, MD; Ryan Loh, PhD; Michael Weinstock, MD; Lindsey E. Fish, MD Citation: Maia VRN, Loh R, Weinstock M, Fish L. Return Visits and Hospitalization Rates …
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Urgent Message: Location and accessibility are keys to success for any urgent care. Operators must avoid common pitfalls when evaluating a site for their next venture. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc, is President of Experity Consulting and is Senior Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. Citation: Ayers, A. Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Urgent Care Site Selection. J Urgent Care Med. 2024; 18(9): 22-25 Experience tells us that friendly service, competent providers, short wait …
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Roger Hicks, MD I live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Northern California, where, like numerous other parts of the world, extreme weather events are becoming increasingly routine occurrences. The “hot days” are hotter and more abundant, and the droughts are more severe. In turn, this has precipitated more wildfires, which lead to problematic smoke and hazardous air quality. When I opened my urgent care (UC) clinic 24 years ago, I never thought …
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