As I contemplate my own professional transition, from an academic mega-hospital to a private urgent care venture, I have been through the usual rollercoaster of emotions that accompany any major life changes: Stress (physical, mental, and emotional): Change requires simultaneously managing the process you are changing from and the process you are changing to. That’s double the work. In a complex profession like ours, I think everyone will agree there’s enough stress managing just one. …
Read MoreCrisis in the ER: Quantifying the Impact of Urgent Care
Much has been written lately on the growing crisis in emergency services: diversions, overcrowding, uncompensated care, lack of hospital beds, and the high cost of care in emergency department settings. Much has also been written of late about the growing crisis in primary care: poor reimbursement, declining numbers of primary care physicians and trainees, and declining access to primary care as a result. This has caused increased wait times and limited same-day availability. All of …
Read MoreA Defense of Family Medicine or an Indictment of Emergency Medicine?
I expected a firm retort from our colleagues in academic and traditional family medicine with regard to my column Is Urgent Care “Real” Family Medicine? (JUCM, October 2008). Unexpectedly, however, the column brought concern from one of our urgent care colleagues with roots in emergency medicine. In his letter—excerpts from which are presented here—Dr. Bryan Dunn of Boerne/Bulverde Urgent Care in Texas writes: “Your editorial came across as a slap in the face to emergency …
Read MoreA Recipe for Medical Decision Making
Lee A. Resnick, MD, FAAFP No other specialty requires more expertise in medical decision making than urgent care medicine. We specialize in the evaluation and management of the “undifferentiated patient,” with limited access to diagnostic and consultative resources. Our scope of care is one of the broadest in medicine, requiring breadth of knowledge across disciplines. Our patients are almost entirely new to us, giving us limited clinical and personal insight into their presentations. Finally, constraints …
Read MoreIs Urgent Care “Real” Family Medicine?
Lee A. Resnick, MD, FAAFP I am acutely aware that urgent care medicine is practiced by a variety of specialties. However, family physicians make up the majority of those who practice in urgent care settings, and represent the most likely contingent of practitioners to fill the increasing demand for qualified practitioners in the future. As an organization, UCAOA has made several steps toward improving the competency of family physicians entering the field, from formal training …
Read MoreUCA in the News
Lee A. Resnick, MD, FAAFP UCA has been a busy organization of late. The announcement of an alliance with the Joint Commission is big news, indeed. We recognize that this news may not be welcomed by all, but are confident that most of your preconceptions will not be validated by the process. I think we all can agree on the goals of an urgent care accreditation program: First and foremost, it should be “urgent care …
Read MoreFighting the Urge to Judge
Lee A. Resnick, MD, FAAFP In a previous column, entitled “Rekindling the Doctor-Patient Relationship”, I focused on methods for developing trust with your patients. The intention of building trust is to enhance patient relationships and ensure positive patient encounters. Judgments can be a significant obstacle to that process, however. In fact, judgments are the surest way to undermine trust, and can potentially lead to delay of appropriate care or to misdiagnosis. Judgments are second only …
Read MoreVisioning for the Future of Urgent Care
Lee A. Resnick, MD, FAAFP The Urgent Care Association’s spring convention in New Orleans, April 28–May 2 culminated an incredible year for our association. The convention was attended by 660 urgent care practitioners and administrators, and represented an incredible show of strength for our industry, the discipline of urgent care medicine, and UCA. As witnessed by those of you who have attended many of our recent conventions, UCA has achieved remarkable growth in only four …
Read MoreRekindling the Doctor-Patient Relationship
Lee A Resnick, MD, FAAFP The joy of practice is two-fold: Intellectual and Relational. The intellectual side of us thrives on the challenge of complex medical decision making and computational fact-finding. Understanding and applying pathophysiology is what we trained for, and what most of us consider to be a joyful brain exercise. However, since we do not practice medicine in a vacuum, the relational side of patient care is equally important to job satisfaction. It …
Read MoreNotes From the Field
Lee A. Resnick, MD, FAAFP I write to you from the beautiful landscapes of New Zealand, where I just participated in the first-ever international conference for urgent care. Representatives from all over the world joined to share ideas and experiences of their journeys into the development of urgent care as a discipline and an industry. This international dialogue broadens our understanding of the clinical and market forces driving this global phenomenon, and strengthens our individual …
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