StuWilli, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

What to Do If A Competing Urgent Care Opens in Your Community

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. Urgent message: As the country’s urgent care markets become increasingly saturated, the forward-thinking operator will have a strategic patient-retention strategy ready when a competitor inevitably opens up shop in their community. As the urgent care market continues its yearly growth of around 8%, per the Urgent Care Association’s 2018 Benchmarking …

Abstracts in Urgent Care – January 2020

The FDA on Cannabidiol Improving Diagnosis of Cluster Headache Making Tympanostomy Tube Placement Office-Friendly Nothing to Fear from NDMA? Counseling Patients on Preventing Cardiovascular Disease FDA Delves Deeper into Use of CBD Products Key point: The FDA is working to answer questions about the science, safety, and quality of products containing cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds, particularly CBD. Citation: U.S. Food & Drug Administration. What you need to know (and what we’re working to find out) …

A New Year, and a New Era for JUCM

35,000. As I assume the role of editor-in-chief of the journal, this is the number that revolves through my head with rhythmic pops like an old, vinyl record. Cognitive psychologists estimate that that’s the number of decisions an average adult makes every day. This number may seem impossibly large at first, to the point of absurdity even. After all, that breaks down to a decision every 2 seconds. But let’s pause briefly and examine this. …

Most Urgent Care Centers Give Immunization a Shot—of One Type or Another

If you haven’t noticed, it’s flu season. In fact, it’s been flu season longer than usual for this point compared with past years, thanks to an unexpectedly early arrival. With months to go, though, there’s still time for patients who have not been immunized to reap the benefits of getting a flu shot. This is not to say that influenza is the only immunization patients need. With reports of measles also beginning to climb as …

Reducing Morbidity and Mortality Due to MRSA in the Urgent Care Setting

Urgent message: Staphylococcus aureus is a common pathogen in the community—one that can lead to a range of infections, including abscess and sepsis. Invasive methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA) infections have decreased in the healthcare setting; however, at the same time, community-acquired infections have increased. Delayed treatment increases morbidity and mortality. Jordan Miller, DO and Ari Leib, MD AN ILLUSTRATIVE CASE A 40-year-old female presented to an urgent care center with the chief complaint of a …

Legal Considerations for Expedited Partner Therapy in Urgent Care

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. Urgent message: Expedited Partner Therapy enables a provider, when treating a patient for a sexually transmitted infection, to give a second prescription for the patient’s partner without having to examine the partner. Introduction Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT) is the clinical practice of treating the sex partners of patients diagnosed with …

An 18-Year-Old Male with Shortness of Breath and ‘Tightness’ in His Chest

The patient is an 18-year-old male who presents to urgent care complaining of 1-day history of intermittent shortness of breath, as well as a sore throat. He reports that he woke up with “chest tightness” and “discomfort.” He is unable to take a deep breath. View the image taken and consider what the diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

An 8-Year-Old Girl with Persistent Sore Throat and Fever

The patient is an 8-year-old girl who is brought to your urgent care center by her father, who reports his daughter has had a sore throat and a fever for “a few days.” Most recently, a petechial rash has appeared, spreading from her head and neck down to her torso. She also started complaining of nausea. The father also observes that her tongue appears redder than usual. View the image and consider what your diagnosis …

Kaposi Sarcoma Presenting in the Urgent Care Setting as a Single Mass Lesion of the Foot

Urgent message: Kaposi sarcoma is considered an AIDS-defining illness with variable locations of presentation. Proper diagnosis of lesions can allow patients to seek out necessary care for potentially serious pathologies. Brad White, DO, Susannah Boulet, OMV-IV, William Billari, OMS-IV, and Jennifer Lee, OMS-IV Introduction Skin lesions and abscesses are common and often relatively benign findings that a physician may not deem serious enough for further investigation. However, as first-line providers, it is critical for urgent …

Already Looking Forward to 2021—and (Hopefully) Smoother Sailing with E/M Coding

On November 1, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) confirmed with the final rule for 2020 that they have accepted all of the American Medical Associations (AMA) recommendations for coding of office and outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) services starting in 2021. This will offer some documentation relief for providers who have been held to dated 1995 and 1997 guidelines that were written before the use of electronic medical records. However, these …