Harris Fleming, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Why COVID-19 Is a Problem for All Urgent Care Patients (and Operators), Not Just Those at Risk

Vaccination and taking responsible safety measures have done much to reduce risk for infection with COVID-19, and probably done just as much to ease anxiety over getting sick with the virus. Even if a patient doesn’t come within a mile of an infected person, though, it’s getting more likely that the pandemic will have an adverse effect on their healthcare and on your ability to run a smooth operation. According to a report from Reuters, …

Is Niche Marketing a Way to Reach Underserved Populations—and Promote Your Services?

It’s no secret that there are inequities in delivery of healthcare in the United States. Those who reside in rural areas and people of color, in particular, are underserved when it comes to medical care. This has been further proven by the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 on various populations. Blue Cross Blue Shield thinks one solution may be establishing urgent care and other healthcare facilities within communities where there are high densities of a particular …

Flouting Mandates and Misinforming Patients Bring Swift Consequences (ie, Loss of License)

We’re all entitled to our opinions. More often than not, differences occur between healthcare providers and patients, such as when you’re trying to convince a reluctant individual to get the COVID-19 vaccine. When there’s disagreement between a licensed physician and governing bodies, though, there’s a more statutory concern. And a physician in Oregon just got a taste of how severe the consequences are for those who stray from passive disagreement to outright disobedience. The primary …

Timely Update: You Can Administer Flu Shots and COVID-19 Vaccine in the Same Visit

Just as urgent care operators are gearing up for one of the more precarious flu seasons in memory—while also continuing to guard against the health and economic threats of the COVID-19 pandemic—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a significant change from its most recent seasonal vaccine recommendations. Where the CDC at first advised against administering a flu shot (or any other shot) within 2 weeks of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, they now say …

Kids Are Back in School. Are You Prepared for the Growing Threat of MIS-C?

Many school systems across the country are seeing increases in confirmed cases of COVID-19 among their student bodies. The threat appears to be especially great in elementary schools, which are full of children who so far are not recommended to get vaccinated. As such, it’s very possible that urgent care centers will start seeing more children who have been exposed, whether they’re symptomatic or not. Ensure you have adequate testing supplies and, in preparation for …

Be Vigilant for Prescription Seekers and Signs of Drug Abuse as the Pandemic Goes on

A study just published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) reveals that drug overdoses attributed to benzodiazepines were 43% higher in April to June 2020—just as the COVID-19 pandemic surged—compared with the same period a year earlier. That coincided with a jump in related emergency room visits (24%) at a time when EDs were scrambling to keep up with the demands of the pandemic while also trying to maintain safety of patients and staff. …

As the Pandemic Goes On, Vaccines Are Shown to Protect Against Serious Illness with Delta

COVID-19 vaccines are proving to not only diminish the risk of patients becoming infected with the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants, but also to protect against serious illness in patients who do become infected—including those infected with the Delta variant. A study published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report revealed that vaccinated patients diagnosed with the Delta variant of COVID-19 are less likely to require hospitalization or visits to the emergency room or urgent …

How Bad Is the COVID-19 Surge? Hospitals Are Suggesting Patients Visit Urgent Care Instead of the ED

With hospitalizations for COVID-19 at their highest point since January of this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID data tracker, some hospital systems are putting out the word that urgent care centers may be the best option for nonemergent complaints. WVU Medicine in West Virginia, for one, went to the local media to announce that patients with complaints like ear or throat pain, abdominal complaints and other similar issues should …

Let the Walgreens Incident Be a Reminder: Cybersecurity Always Has to Be Top of Mind

Walgreens inadvertently left the data of millions of its customers unprotected thanks to an apparent oversight in the creation of an app used for COVID-19 test registrations. As reported by Recode, information—including names, contact information, and even the results of COVID-19 tests—on anyone who was tested at a Walgreens location within the last year could have been exposed on the open web. While this breach was not the work of hackers or other cybercriminals, the …

Pediatric COVID-19 Cases Are at Their Peak—and the Data Haven’t Caught Up with School Openings Yet

Cases of COVID-19 in children grew 62% between August 5 and September 9 of this year (from 93,824 to 243,373), according to data collected from state departments of health by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. Hospitalizations are up among infected children, too, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The scary part is, these data were collected before schools even opened up in many big …