Practice Management
Urgent message: “Mock trials” are a valuable tool to help urgent care providers offer better medical care, record more appropriate documentation, and learn about medical proceedings. Michael Weinstock, MD; Kaetha Frost, DO; Heath Jolliff, DO; Amal Mattu, MD; Seth McIntire, DO; Marc Calvert, JD; Mark Kitrick, JD; and Matt Delaney, MD Citation: Weinstock M, Frost K, Jolliff H, Mattu A, McIntire S, Calvert M, Kitrick M, Delaney M. See you in court: practice and documentation …
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Urgent message: Timely employment—and informed selection—of the most suitable mode of imaging are essential for correct diagnosis and optimal treatment of scaphoid injuries in the urgent care setting, often negating the need for referral to a higher-acuity setting. Muhammad Asim, MBBS, FRNZCUC, FRNZCGP and Rabeeah Asim, MBBS INTRODUCTION The scaphoid is the most commonly injured bone amongst carpal bones at the wrist, accounting for 10% of all hand fractures and 50% to 80% of all …
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Surgery—or Not—for Appendicitis? Oral Analgesics and Musculoskeletal Extremity Pain What Patient Don’t Know About Ionizing Radiation Risk with NSAIDs, Cox-2 Inhibitors, and Opioids in Fractures Inhaled Budesonide for COVID-19 Spread of COVID-19 within the Household Ivan Koay MBChB, FRNZCUC, MD Nonoperative Management of Acute Appendicitis Take-home point: This study adds to a growing body of literature suggesting that, in select patients, a nonsurgical approach to appendicitis management leads to similar outcomes. Citation: The CODA Collaborative …
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The patient is an 81-year-old female with past medical history of atrial fibrillation on apixaban who presents to urgent care after a syncopal episode 30 minutes prior to arrival. The patient felt lightheaded while being pushed in her wheelchair and then lost consciousness. There was no trauma. She returned to baseline approximately 2 minutes after the event. There was no seizure activity. The patient denied associated chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, urinary or fecal …
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A mother brings her 13-year-old daughter to your urgent care center with a complaint of fever, chills, dry cough, and myalgia for 3 days. On exam, the patient is febrile (101°F). In addition, there is conjunctival injection and blanching erythematous patches on the face and neck. The mother mentions that the family returned from a trip to Brazil 10 days prior. While traveling they ate local food, drank local (unfiltered) water, sustained a few mosquito …
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The patient is a 30-year-old male who presents with 2 days of difficulty swallowing and what he calls a painful “bump” on the right side of his neck. View the images taken and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.
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Patient volume has always been a delicate topic between the clinical staff and administrators of urgent care centers. It’s no secret who stands where in this ongoing debate. Regardless of each side’s opinions, UC volume has been largely stochastic historically, fluctuating at its own whim without regard for who wishes it were higher or lower. Things are different now, though. Thanks to COVID, UC overcrowding has become the new ED overcrowding—ubiquitous. The large volumes of …
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Urgent message: Patients present to urgent care with a variety of complaints, many of which are common—even if they are the result of an uncommon condition. It is important that the provider develop a broad differential diagnosis as they approach these problems. Richard A Ginnetti, MD, MBA, CPE and Justin Holschbach, MD CASE PRESENTATION History A 52-year-old male presents to urgent care with the chief complaint of new lower posterior neck and right shoulder pain …
Read MorePediatric Burns and Cool, Clear Water Limit Screen Time After Concussion? Gastroenteritis in Children Diagnosing Giant Cell Arteritis POCUS and Ectopic Pregnancy Detecting C diff Vaccinating Adolescents Against COVID-19 Ivan Koay MBChB, FRNZCUC, MD First Aid for Pediatric Burn Patients Take-home point: Many children with burns receive inadequate cooling after burns when presenting for emergency care. Citation: Frear C, Griffin B and Kimble R. Adequacy of cool running water first aid by healthcare professionals in …
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Urgent message: Ultrasound can provide essential data in the urgent care evaluation of gynecological and obstetrical problems, such as suspected ectopic pregnancy (and is the test of choice for first-trimester pregnant women with abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding). Andrew Alaya, MD, MSc and Harold Pelikan, MD INTRODUCTION An ectopic pregnancy or extrauterine gravidity (EUG) is a pregnancy that implants outside of the uterus. In 90% to 95% of EUGs, the pregnancy lies in the fallopian …
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