Practice Management
Public health advocates have been warning since year 1 of the pandemic that a simultaneous wave of influenza and COVID-19 could have devastating consequences to the U.S. population, healthcare system, and economy. To date, we’ve collectively managed to dodge that bullet. As we approach flu season this year, though, some experts are wondering out loud whether our luck might have run out. That concern is bolstered by the fact that Australia “had a very bad …
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Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, patients who may have previously gone to the closest hospital emergency room for nonemergent complaints simply went without care or managed to get care through other means. According to an article just published by Fierce Healthcare, margins at those hospitals have suffered accordingly, with the real threat that they’ll continue to do so thanks to patients’ new reliance on urgent care, telehealth, and other options. As a result, …
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The fact that it’s so newsworthy will tell you the odds of a car crashing through your front door are pretty low. That doesn’t minimize the consequences when it happens to you, though. The operators of WellNow Urgent Care in Huber Heights, OH are finding that out the hard way right now. As noted in an article published in the Dayton Daily News, two people were injured when a vehicle collided into the building; one …
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiated a Health Alert Network bulletin last week concerning an uptick in severe respiratory illness attributed to both rhinovirus and Enterovirus in children across the country. Some of the Enterovirus patients tested positive for EV-D68, which has been associated with acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a neurologic complication found to induce polio-like symptoms. Consequently, the CDC “urge(s) healthcare providers to consider EV-D68 as a possible cause of acute, severe …
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MedExpress’s decision to close down its 7-year-old urgent care center in Haverhill, MA last month didn’t sit well with Mayor James Fiorentini. Obviously, no civic-minded public official wants to see a successful business vacate the community, for economic reasons alone. But hizzoner has been very public in decrying the void the departure leaves in the town’s healthcare resources. According to an article published in the local newspaper Eagle Tribune, Fiorentini is “looking to recruit another …
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A physician in California has been sentenced to 7 years in prison after being convicted of ordering “excessive and medically unnecessary x-rays to healthy patients” and subsequently billing both Medicare and Medi-Cal as reported in MedPage Today. State law enforcement first caught wind that something in the practice could be amiss in 2016. Upon investigating the cases of 10 reportedly randomly selected patients, they say they found evidence of medically unnecessary x-rays and fraudulent billing. …
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Typically, on the subject of antibiotic overprescribing, we think of a harried provider being worn down by a patient or parent of a young patient presenting with a sore throat, bad cold, or earache who insists they need an antibiotic even when it’s not indicated. However, a new article published online by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy reveals that approximately 13% of ambulatory care visits for acute gastroenteritis result in an antibiotic …
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You probably recall reading in JUCM News that a case of paralytic polio occurred in Rockland County, NY recently. It was such an anomaly that the case also garnered widespread attention among national media. As noted in an article just published by JAMA Network it’s likely, based on analysis of the unvaccinated patient’s genomic sequencing, that the virus had “been circulating under the radar for up to a year,” however. Not long after that highly …
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First, ads for erectile dysfunction products available after a quick virtual “evaluation” flooded drivetime radio and social media platforms. Many took a humorous approach. Then spots started taking a darker turn to pitch the benefits of drugs—again, available for individuals specifically seeking a particular treatment—for mental health issues like anxiety and depression. As noted in a recent article from MedPage Today, the latest of those offers access to ketamine, a medication with proven benefits but …
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The Urgent Care Association’s Urgent Care Foundation is using its first-ever grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop programs that further the cause of antibiotic stewardship. The funds will be put toward updating the UCA/College of Urgent Care Medicine Antibiotic Stewardship toolkit, creating a 4-year industry action plan, and continuing the partnership with the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center at George Washington University. This work is especially timely in the wake of a …
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