One hour of free CME will be offered in the forthcoming Bouncebacks! Book Club virtual discussions. The book series Bouncebacks!—created by The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine’s Senior Clinical Editor Michael Weinstock, MD, and colleagues—takes a fresh approach to the practice of medicine by focusing on “bounce-back” visits with a collection of case reports. The Bouncebacks! series presents the actual documentation of an emergency encounter, analyzes it from a risk-management and patient-safety perspective, then reveals …
Read MoreAn 18 Month-Old-Boy with Vomiting
In Bouncebacks, we provide the documentation of an actual patient encounter, discuss patient safety and risk-management principles, and then reveal the patient’s bounceback diagnosis. This case is from the book Bouncebacks!, available at www.anadem.com and www.amazon.com. History of Present Illness John is a healthy 18-month-old boy. One morning shortly after Christmas, he awoke with cough and congestion. After breakfast, he had an episode of vomiting. Though his symptoms remained mild over the next 3 days, …
Read MoreA 14-Year-Old with Vomiting and Bumps on the Tongue
In Bouncebacks, which appears periodically in JUCM, we provide the documentation of an actual patient encounter, discuss patient safety and risk-management principles, and then reveal the patient’s bounceback diagnosis. This case is from the book Bouncebacks! Pediatrics, by Michael B. Weinstock, Kevin M. Klauer, Madeline Matar Joseph, and Gregory L. Henry, and is available at www.anadem.com and www.amazon.com. Can you spot the red flags without knowing the outcome? Introduction Note: The following is the actual …
Read MoreA 16-Week-Old Infant with Bloody Vomitus
In Bouncebacks, we provide the documentation of an actual patient encounter, discuss patient safety and risk-management principles, and then reveal the patient’s bounceback diagnosis. This case is from the book Bouncebacks! Pediatrics, by Michael B. Weinstock, Kevin M. Klauer, Madeline Matar Joseph, and Gregory L. Henry, and is available at www.anadem.com and www.amazon.com. Introduction A 16-week-old infant was brought by her parents to the emergency department (ED) of a children’s hospital. Note: The following is the actual documentation by the provider. Visit …
Read MoreA 34-Year-Old Man with Left Side Pain
In Bouncebacks, which appears periodically in JUCM, we provide the documentation of an actual patient encounter, discuss patient safety and risk-management principles, and then reveal the patient’s bounceback diagnosis. This month’s case reflects the actual documentation from an urgent care visit, and the patient’s bounceback the next day to the emergency department. Can you spot the red flags without knowing the outcome? MICHAEL B. WEINSTOCK, MD, and MIZUHO SPANGLER, DO Introduction Apicture tells a thousand …
Read MoreThe Case of a 32-year-old Woman With Headache
When an Uncommon—Potentially Catastrophic—Diagnosis Is Masked by a Common Complaint In Bouncebacks, which appears quarterly in JUCM, we provide documentation of an actual patient encounter, discuss patient safety and risk management principles, and then reveal the patient’s “bounceback” diagnosis. This Bouncebacks case is unique in that it also went to trial, excerpts from which are also presented. This case is adapted from the Bouncebacks! Medical and Legal (Anadem Publishing) by Michael B. Weinstock, MD, and …
Read MoreThe Case of a 42-year-old Fireman with Shoulder Pain: When a Lifeline Becomes a Noose
There are some diagnoses that will be missed by nine out of 10 physicians; this is one of them. However, our goal is not to meet “Standard of Care” but to provide excellence in care: Take every patient at face value, without trying to guess their intentions for secondary gain. Ensure you are aware of the chief complaint stated to the staff in the urgent care center. Be an open book in your impression and …
Read MoreThe Case of a 51-year-old Man with Back Pain
Most new third-year medical students can recite the “red flags” of back pain: extremes of age, fever, history of cancer, history of trauma, failure to improve after one month of therapy. Few would fail to consider metastatic disease in a 64-yearold woman with a history of breast cancer and new-onset low back pain, but what about the 51-year-old male without a significant past medical history?
Read MoreThe Case of a 21-year-old Woman with Sinus Pain
I would rather have a patient with a stab wound to the chest than a patient with a serious underlying problem who just wants antibiotics and a quick evaluation. Is there a way to tease out benign- appearing patients who are “pre-crump?” This month’s case is that very patient—a raindrop in a torrent of mucus and purulent drainage.
Read MoreThe Case of a 57-year-old Man with Heart Fluttering and Lightheadedness
What happens when our patient so badly wants to be well that they talk us out of the correct diagnosis? “I think it is my anxiety” was the mantra accepted by the physician in this case. Though diagnoses are not always clear after the initial encounter, they are not up for negotiation. Patients have a vested interest, due to denial or human nature, in believing that nothing is seriously wrong with them. It can be …
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