bnapolitano, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Treating Patients Infected with Influenza Virus in the Urgent Care Setting

Urgent message: As patients start to feel the effects of the 2018–2019 influenza season, urgent care centers can expect to see visits by patients with related symptoms increase. Providers must be prepared to identify and treat patients most at risk for complications and poor outcomes—armed with old standbys and a newly approved antiviral agent. Samantha Arnold, DO Introduction Last month, JUCM explored prevention, diagnosis, and testing for influenza. In this issue, we focus on management …

A 73-Year-Old Woman with a 12-Day History of Palpitations

Case The patient is a 73-year-old woman who presents to the urgent care center with palpitations she says she first noticed 12 days ago. There is no associated chest pain, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, or paresthesias. The patient states she takes warfarin, with recent INR of 2.2. Her personal medical history includes atrial fibrillation, and there is a history of heart disease within the family. Upon examination, you find: General: A&O, NAD, WNWD Lungs: …

CME Specific to Flu Shots—and Parental Hesitancy—Seems to Improve Immunization Rates

Healthcare providers who took an online CME program specific to seasonal influenza in children, and that took into account flu shot hesitancy in parents, were more likely to vaccinate infants against the flu, according to a study out of Western University in Canada. Authors of the paper, which was presented at IDWeek recently, concluded that the results show a distinct cause-and-effect relationship between providing timely clinical education and clinical action by participants. “Timely” may be …

Urgent Care Physician Vacancies Get Filled Faster, According to Study

The main focus of a new study just released by ECG Management Consultants may be physician compensation, but buried within the data is an interesting fact about the physician job market. Whereas between 64% and 100% of open physician positions took at least 6 months to fill in four out of five categories, depending on the specialty measured, only 20% of open positions went unfilled for that long in urgent care (the fifth category). ECG’s …

Don’t Despair, Urgent Care: Walgreens–Humana Partnership Would Hit Hospitals Hardest

If Walgreens and Humana opt to broaden their working relationship, hospitals may be more at risk for lost revenue than urgent care operators. A new post on the HealthLeaders website conjectures that such a venture “could be part of a new competitive threat to hospital revenue as the two healthcare giants work to guide seniors covered by Medicare to low-cost outpatient retail care settings.” Inclusion of the qualifying word “seniors” is where urgent care can …

Resistant Infections Could Kill a Million Americans and Cost $65 Billion by 2050

If current data hold true in the years to come, antimicrobial-resistant infection is expected to kill 1 million Americans and cost developed countries $3.5 billion per year by the year 2050. Conversely, according to a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), 75% of deaths could be averted by investing $2 per person per year in measures to stem resistance. That model presumes that the current growth rate of antibiotic resistance …

Be Advised: There’s a New Danger Associated with Opioid Use

Addiction may not be the only risk for patients who take opioid pain medications—even if they follow prescribing directions to the letter. A paper presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions reveals increased risk for atrial fibrillation in patients who take opioids. Accounting for comorbidities, demographics, and mental health conditions, patients who took opioids were found to be 34% more likely to develop AFib than those who did not take opioids. The data are …

Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Are Spreading in the Carolinas

Cases of measles and chickenpox are spreading in North Carolina and South Carolina, respectively, leading public health officials in both states to urge residents to get themselves and their children vaccinated. At least 12 students have been diagnosed with chickenpox at a single private school in Asheville, NC. Buncome County, which includes Asheville, has North Carolina’s highest rate of kindergarteners who have not been immunized because of religious exemptions. Without immunization, chickenpox is highly contagious. …

How to Deal with a Liar

Urgent message: It’s human nature that some of the patients, employees, and vendors urgent care providers and operators deal with on a daily basis will twist the truth to gain an advantage. Key for urgent care leaders, who need correct information to make good decisions, is to recognize when you’re being lied to and to have a rational, calculated approach for responding. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer at Velocity Urgent Care …

Ranks of Unvaccinated Children Are Growing, Putting Others at Risk

Fewer young children are getting vaccination against many diseases than in years past, opening the door for preventable disease outbreaks, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The threat is especially acute in uninsured and Medicaid-insured children. The CDC report, Vaccination Coverage Among Children Aged 19–35 Months—United States, 2018, notes that children under 2 years of age, in particular, are less likely to receive all the recommended vaccinations than in …