Practice Management
News concerning the advisability and availability of booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines has been evolving almost as quickly as data regarding new cases of the virus itself lately. Most striking was an announcement from Rochelle Walensky, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that her agency now recommends a third dose of some vaccines for certain patients—though that will likely expand in due time. The decision is in line with a …
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It continues to be a difficult proposition to get a handle on a “standard” constellation of symptoms among patients with COVID-19. It’s been made even more difficult by the ongoing rise of the Delta variant. A leading public health official in Louisiana, where the pandemic is taking as great a toll as anywhere in the world at the moment, told New Orleans radio station WWL that symptoms associated with Delta are distinct from those associated …
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The patient who presents with an articulate, specific explanation of their complaint is both a blessing and a curse to the urgent care provider. On the plus side, you’re not forced into a game of 20 questions just to get a sense of why they’re sitting in your exam room. On the downside, even the most forthcoming patient can’t tell you what they’re unaware of. They know what’s uncomfortable, but not much else—and that can …
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Outside of the healthcare environment, you’d be hard pressed to find a professional who is more at risk for COVID-19 by virtue of long-term exposure to large numbers of people than teachers (especially those who teach younger children who are ineligible to receive the vaccine at this time). Those educators then share whatever exposure they’ve had with loved ones at home, of course. In spite of this, as in other settings, some teachers are begging …
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As readers of JUCM News know, it appeared early in the COVID-19 pandemic that children were either at reduced risk for COVID-19 compared with adults or less likely to become severely ill and die from the virus. And, in fact, the virus has proven less hazardous for younger patients compared with adults. If new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are any indication, however, the Delta variant is another story altogether. The …
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Urgent care operators stood ready to pitch in as COVID-19 ravaged states throughout the U.S. early in the pandemic—but were largely unable to do so thanks to mystifying decisions on where testing supplies and the like would be allocated. According to research conducted by Experity, however, that changed in a big way in 2020, when urgent care visits jumped 58%. In fact, as Experity CEO David Stern, MD, CPC explained to Healthcare IT News, urgent …
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When the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic first became evident, the term “twindemic” (simultaneous high rates of both SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal influenza) was everywhere. Not only did it never emerge, but new data published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report show that incidence of flu, respiratory syncytial virus, common human coronaviruses, parainfluenza viruses, human metapneumovirus, respiratory adenovirus, and rhinovirus and enterovirus were all actually lower than previous years. The authors speculate that the lower-than-average activity …
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Most women who are pregnant are rightly cautious about what they put into their bodies. Given the newness of the COVID-19 vaccines, not to mention the misinformation abounding on social and mainstream media, it’s natural that they might be hesitant to get vaccinated. After numerous studies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has finally issued an unequivocal statement recommending that pregnant women should, indeed, get vaccinated while assuring the public that none of the …
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As you know, some patients consider it an infringement on their constitutional rights if they’re required to wear a mask in a private business, including an urgent care center. Others are likely to choose a location over another if they know everyone will be masked. Whatever your rules are, it’s in your (and your patients’) best interest to be as transparent as possible in order to avoid conflict and continue drawing patients who will be …
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When a patient presented with telltale symptoms of COVID-19 last fall, the physician assistant did the responsible thing and ordered a test. It came back positive. The patient died 3 weeks later, and now the man’s family is suing both the PA, the supervising physician, and the practice, alleging that their husband’s and father’s demise was due to inadequate care. First, the family claims that clinicians did not warn the patient that he was at …
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