The patient, a 5-week-old male, presented with skin peeling around the “belly button.” View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be.
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Offering Patient WiFi in the Urgent Care Center
Urgent message: The costs of and barriers to adding WiFi to an urgent care center are low and the benefits include a better patient experience and improved perception of wait times. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc, Experity WiFi is now ubiquitous. Step into most any coffee house, theme restaurant, library, shopping mall or other service establishment and you’ll find that Internet access is readily available and usually free of charge. Many hospitals have also introduced …
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Acute Abdominal Pain in Children
Urgent message: This article will guide you through the differential diagnosis, management and disposition of pediatric patients presenting with acute abdominal pain. KAYLEENE E. PAGÁN CORREA, MD, FAAP Introduction “My tummy hurts.” That is a simple statement that shows a common complaint from children who seek care in an urgent care or emergency department.1 But the diagnosis in such patients can be challenging for a clinician because of the diverse etiologies. Acute abdominal pain is …
Read MoreFebruary 2013
18-year-old male with a blow to his right foot
The patient, an 18-year-old male, presented after a blow to his right foot. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be.
Read MoreIt’s Not Just Drugs and Rock and Roll
JOHN SHUFELDT, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP The one thing I have left out has been… well…sex. Sex has over the years I have attempted to cover it all. Drugs, rock and roll, BFRF (big F-ing red flag), airplane crashes, you name it. Sex has always been a challenging and awkward subject or me. In fact, I cried the first time I had sex—thank God I was alone. Anyway, speaking of God, my challenges with this subject …
Read MoreAbstracts in Urgent Care: January, 2013
A Useful Marker of Invasive Disease in Well- Appearing Febrile Infants Key point: Procalcitonin is better than C-reactive protein and white blood cell count for predicting bacterial infection in well- appearing infants aged <3 months. Citation: Gomez B, Mintegi S, Da Dalt L, Blazquez D, et al. Di- agnostic value of procalcitonin in well-appearing young febrile infants. Pediatrics. 2012;130(5):815-822. Differentiating between serious bacterial infection and minor viral illness in febrile infants is often difficult. To …
Read MoreClinical Challenge: January, 2013
In each issue, JUCM will challenge your diagnostic acumen with a glimpse of x-rays, electrocardiograms, and photographs of dermatologic conditions that real urgent care patients have presented with. If you would like to submit a case for consideration, please email the relevant materials and present- ing information to [email protected]. The patient, a 35-year-old male, presented after a blow to the face. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be. Resolution …
Read MoreInhalation Treatments, OSHA Required Respiratory Questionnaires, Preventive Care Services
DAVID STERN, MD (Practice Velocity) Q.Can nebulizer treatments and instructions for use of the nebulizer inhaler be billed together? Who can perform these services in an urgent care center? A. There are two codes associated with nebulizer treatment and instruction: 94640, “Pressurized or non-pressurized inhalation treat- ment for acute airway obstruction or for sputum induc- tion for diagnostic purposes (e.g., with an aerosol generator, nebulizer, metered dose inhaler or intermit- tent positive pressure breathing [IPPB] device”; …
Read MoreDeveloping Data: January, 2013
These data from the 2012 Urgent Care Industry Benchmarking Study are based on a sample of 1,732 urgent care centers; 95.2% of the respondents were UCAOA members. Among other criteria, the study was limited to centers that have a licensed provider onsite at all times; have two or more exam rooms; typically are open 7 days/week, 4 hours/day, at least 3,000 hours/year; and treat patients of all ages (unless specifically a pediatric urgent care). In …
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