StuWilli, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Legal Restriction of Urgent Care Businesses by Municipalities

Urgent Message: As some municipalities have considered placing—or have already placed—restrictions on the opening of new urgent care centers in their communities, urgent care developers should understand the legality and business impact of such local moratoria. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Practice Velocity, LLC and is Practice Management Editor for The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. Recently, after much consideration, the Manhattan Beach (CA) City Council rejected a …

UCA Asks the Public: Are You Urgent Care Prepared for Flu Season?

The Urgent Care Association has launched a public-facing campaign to get consumers to head to their local urgent care center to ward off influenza, now that the season has officially begun. In addition to stressing that the urgent care center is “the best place to receive flu vaccinations and other key winter healthcare services,” UCA’s message also focuses on herd immunity—the notion that higher immunization rates will result in lower incidence of illness across the …

FDA Appeals Directly to Physicians on Curbing Access to Opioids

The FDA may have limited authority to reduce the number of opioid medications in circulation at any given time, but its commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, MD, is appealing to urgent care physicians, and prescribers everywhere, to take action. For starters, he said, the agency would like to construct “expert guidelines” informed by the medical community, with the idea that those guidelines could ultimately be reflected in drug labeling (over with the FDA does have authority). Speaking …

WSJ: Hospitals Continue to ‘Follow the Patient’ to Urgent Care and Other Settings

As we’ve reported here, the evolving habits of patients who seek immediate, cost-efficient, quality care is forcing hospitals and health systems to reconsider their own approaches to patient engagement. Such is reconfirmed in a Wall Street Journal article that observes “as patients increasingly seek cheaper and more convenient care, some of the largest U.S. hospital operators are investing in surgery centers, emergency rooms, and urgent care clinics.” The article cites Tenet Healthcare Corp., Dignity Health, …

Urgent Care Physician Imposter Busted in Florida

A physician assistant’s suspicions and subsequent law enforcement investigations have led to the president of an urgent care center in south Florida being formally charged with posing as a physician and possession of a blank prescription form. In fact, the Med-Clinic in Doral, FL was not licensed by the state to serve as any kind of medical facility. Regardless, it employed “real” clinicians and promoted its capabilities to treat broken bones and infections…all the services …

CDC Recommends Two Flu Shots for Kids 6 Months to 8-Years-Old

In addition to reminding clinicians that all patients 6 months of age and older should receive flu shots by the end of this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is trying to get the word out that children between 6 months and 8 years of age should receive their vaccinations twice, approximately 28 days apart. Like last year, the CDC also recommends against using the nasal pump spray because it’s been deemed inefficient …

FAA Opens Up Pilot Exams to all Licensed Physicians

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) now allows any state-licensed physician to perform medical exams for the half a million private and recreational pilots flying certain small noncommercial aircraft in the U.S., as long as they follow a simple FAA checklist. So far, more than 20,000 pilots have been qualified to fly under the program, called BasicMed. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is actively promoting the program to its members and to medical associations in …

West Nile Virus is Back with a Vengeance

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has served notice that 47 states and the District of Columbia have confirmed cases of West Nile virus (WNV) in people, birds, or mosquitoes this year. All told, there have been 1,295 cases among humans. California has seen the most—258 cases, with 47 popping up in a single week this month, including 12 fatalities. Texas is second in the country, with 105 cases, but has a higher number …

A 42-Year-Old Male with Worsening Chronic Shoulder Pain

A 42-year-old male presents to urgent care complaining of shoulder pain. He notes that the pain is not new—he’s been living with it for several years—but in recent weeks he’s noticed it is growing more severe, especially with motion. View the image taken and consider your next steps, along with possible diagnoses.

Social Media Claims Can Be Fodder for Litigation

A brouhaha in the St. Louis area should serve as a reminder (to operators, clinicians, and staff) that posts to social media platforms are subject to the same standards of fair comment as statements made in the media or anywhere in public. Saying something perceived as inflammatory or wrongfully derogatory about a local urgent care operator on Facebook, in this case, landed the chair of a local emergency department in court. The issue arose when …