Practice Management
John J. Koehler MD, ABPM(OM) I trained in Emergency Medicine in the 1980s and learned to use a slit lamp as an intern; it’s a skill that continues to serve me to this day. We had “opti-spuds” to remove foreign bodies and “opti-burrs” to debride rust rings. This was considered a core skill in my training. This is why, when I started Physicians Immediate Care in 1987, I bought a slit lamp as well as …
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To My Colleagues: I am writing to alert you to an ominous and pernicious trend in our industry that we must collectively address or we will face marginalization or even extinction in the years ahead. This may sound alarmist, but please hear me out. I opened my first clinic in 1987 when “urgent care” was barely a recognized term. I was there when the Urgent Care Association (at that time known as the Urgent Care …
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Urgent message: This case underscores the importance of not “anchoring” to a previous provider’s diagnosis and always remembering that medical conditions are dynamic. JOHN J. KOEHLER, MD, and DANIEL MURAUSKI, DO Introduction Acute pericarditis is defined as inflammation of the pericardium that surrounds the heart and the base of the great vessels. The classical presentation consists of chest pain, a pericardial friction rub, and serial changes on electrocardiogram (EKG). Although data on the incidence of …
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