StuWilli, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

A 20-Year-Old Woman with Acute Chest Pain

The patient is a 20-year-old female who presents with sudden onset of left sided chest pain. A collegiate cross-country runner, she reports that she also felt lightheaded when lacing up her running shoes earlier in the day. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

Abstracts in Urgent Care – February 2018

Revisiting Parameters for Treating Hypertension Key point: New guidelines have lower thresholds for diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. Citation: Whelton PK, Carey RM, Aronow WS, et al. 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/ AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/ NMA/PCNA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Hypertension. [Epub ahead of print November 13, 2017] The 2017 American College of Cardiology/American …

A 51-Year-Old Man with Shortness of Breath and ‘Burning’ in His Chest

The patient is a 51-year-old man with shortness of breath and an intermittent burning sensation in his chest. His symptoms began 2 days ago. Upon exam, you find: General: Alert and oriented Lungs: CTAB Cardiovascular: RRR without murmur, rub, or gallop Abdomen: Soft and NT without r/r/g View the ECG and consider what the diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

Drug Screening Market Expected to See Healthy Growth Through 2022

New data show the market for companies that provide drug screen services—which would include urgent care operators who offer occupational medicine services—should grow at a 10.2% clip annually through 2022. By that time, the total market value would be $8.63 billion (up from $5.32 billion in 2017). The Drug Screening Market Report from ReportsnReports reasons that demand will continue to be driven by growing drug and alcohol consumption among workers, combined with increased enforcement of …

Prepare Yourself and Your Staff: CDC Extends Projected Flu Season

The 2017–2018 influenza season doesn’t just seem long, thanks to the high volume of cases—and deaths—this year; it’s actually going to last longer than usual, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, the CDC says flu season hasn’t even peaked yet; flu activity continues to be widespread in every state except Hawaii and has remained unchanged for 3 weeks—and indicator that the natural wane is still ahead of us. Nearly 12,000 …

Mercy Stresses the Urgent Care Option as ED Volume Swells

Like many facilities across the country, Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith, AR wrestles with overcrowding in the emergency room, especially during flu season. In addition to higher patient volume, resources are further stretched due to staff calling in sick in greater numbers. The administration is dealing with the crisis by employing all available resources, including making the most of the flexibility of the urgent care model. Mercy has dedicated one location specifically to patients presenting …

Government Report: U.S. Needs Better Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance

The timing couldn’t be better for urgent care operators who offer occupational medicine services, as a new government report challenges various stakeholders to establish more robust health surveillance practices in the workplace. A Smarter National Surveillance System for Occupational Safety and Health in the 21st Center, published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, calls for greater coordination among federal agencies and the states, as well as the creation of regional occupational safety …

Epic Comes Under Fire for Possible Anticompetitive Practices

It’s common for competitors to question each other’s practices as they fight for every percentage point of market share—less so for potential customers to accuse companies of being “one of the biggest impediments to innovation in healthcare.” That’s what happened recently in the EMR marketplace, though, as Fairview Health Services CEO James Hereford leveled that very charge at Epic, the EMR provider, according to an article in the St. Paul Business Journal. Epic has been …

Retaining and Developing Your Best Employees

Urgent message: An urgent care operation’s success is determined greatly by the quality of its workforce. Consequently, in increasingly competitive labor markets, urgent care operators need to invest in their strongest employees to get them to stay. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. While we often point to location, marketing, systems, and other “success factors” in …