Harris Fleming, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Too Many Kids Are Behind on Basic Vaccinations Thanks to the Pandemic. Help Them Catch Up

While COVID-19 vaccination mandates are the raging debate of the moment, something more fundamental but equally fraught with the potential for danger has gone largely unnoticed. Many medical practices—including pediatric offices—discouraged or outright ceased visits for routine care at times during the pandemic. Consequently, according to new research published by JAMA Pediatrics, the proportion of children who are up to date on their childhood vaccinations has suffered. Based on review of vaccination rates in 2019 …

It Pays to Get Billing Right the First Time—Ask the Freestanding ER That Billed $50K+ for a COVID-19 Test

With no one being infallible, mistakes are going to happen. While some that occur in the field of medicine have lifelong consequences, most are minor, easily fixed, and soon forgotten. Unless they’re so colossal that they make national headlines, like the case of a Texas man who went to the wrong freestanding emergency room for a test after being exposed to COVID-19 and wound up getting socked with a bill for $56,384. As reported by …

Another ‘Risk’ of COVID-19 Vaccine Is Shown to Be More Dangerous in People with the Virus

People who are opposed to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine often list unknown risks as their rationale for declining. Once you’ve pointed out the known risks of the virus, there’s not much else you can say to convince them. People who cite misinformation in decrying the value of the vacciune are another story however—and each week seems to bring more clinical evidence that could help you answer their concerns. The latest, called out in an article …

It’s Time to Incorporate Long-Term COVID-19 Effects into Our Collective Thinking

Hard evidence is catching up with anecdote when it comes to assessing the prospects for long-lasting effects of COVID-19. A new article based on review of 57 studies and published by JAMA Network Open reveals that mental health, pulmonary, and neurologic effects are the most likely to prevail in people who have survived SARS-CoV-2. This led the authors to conclude that long-term persistent acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) “must be factored into existing healthcare systems,” …

Be Mindful of Your Team’s Certification and Training Status—or Be Prepared to Pay the Price

An urgent care center in New Mexico is learning the hard way that ensuring all the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed matters, regardless of the expertise of your clinicians. Management has been quoted in local media saying that every member of their team is (and has been) up to date on necessary training, but the company still had to pay a $13,500 penalty to settle violations of state-mandated training requirements for x-ray technicians. The …

That Next AFib Patient with a CIED Will Need to Be Watched—Closely

While patients in the midst of atrial fibrillation may feel like they’re having a heart attack, most often their fears are unfounded. Often, an electrocardiogram to confirm there’s no imminent risk and a recommendation to follow up with their primary care provider or cardiologist are enough to put their fears to rest (which can actually be helpful in mitigating the episode). This doesn’t mean there’s no risk associated with AFib, of course. Causative factors need …

COVID-19 Symptoms Can Actually Help in Differentiating Various Respiratory Diseases

Calling it a “silver lining” might be a stretch, but an article just published in The International Journal of Clinical Practice reveals that COVID-19 can actually provide valuable insights that are useful in distinguishing among chronic respiratory conditions in patients with the virus. Given that a number of those conditions have symptoms in common with each other and with SARS-CoV-2, and that patients with some conditions are more susceptible to severe illness with COVID-19, this …

As More Communities ‘Open Up,’ Seize Opportunities to Conduct Vaccination Clinics

News that COVID-19 cases and related deaths are falling in some parts of the country coincides with fall festival season—meaning more of your prospective patients are going to be milling around blocked-off Main Street perusing crafts and sipping on apple cider. With the pandemic still simmering, however, such community events are also a timely opportunity to offer not only COVID-19 vaccine, but also flu shots. Consensus is that we dodged a “twindemic” last year largely …

Be Vigilant—Sexual Misconduct Claims Are Bad for All Concerned

Where staff and patients of the opposite sex or same-sex orientation are together in private, there is a risk for perceived or actual inappropriate advances, or worse. An urgent care operator in Georgia is grappling with such a situation at this very moment, as a medical assistant was arrested and charged with improper sexual contact by an employee or agent in the first degree. A patient alleged that the MA made “unwanted sexual contact with …

As the U.S. Sees Progress in Fighting the Pandemic, Confusion Over Booster Shots Rises

After months of increasing cases of COVID-19, accompanied by rises in associated hospitalizations and deaths, data amassed from state and local health departments by The New York Times indicate that the country may have turned a corner in its fight against COVID-19. From September 22 to October 5, new infections were down to approximately 102,000 per day while deaths fell 22% compared with the previous 2-week period. That good news comes simultaneously with ongoing confusion …