Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Compact Closer to Launching License Portability for Physician Assistants

Ohio became the latest state to embrace the PA Licensure Compact, a multistate portability agreement that allows physician assistants (PAs) to practice in any of the participating states without the need for an additional license. The compact now includes 13 states, which means an activation threshold has now been reached, according to the compact commission’s website. The entity can begin work to operationalize the compact with data systems and onboarding, which could take another year …

New Houston High School Specializes in Healthcare Career Training

Memorial Hermann Health System and the Aldine, Texas, school district in the Houston area this month opened the doors of a health education trade school for high school students. The Health Education and Leadership (HEAL) High School delivers a curriculum that combines academic classes with hands-on learning for healthcare careers. Students participate in job-shadowing, simulation labs, paid healthcare internships, professional mentoring, and other work-based learning experiences, according to the school’s press release. Students choose from …

Predictions Point to Average Flu Season in 2024-2025

One clue that helps forecast the forthcoming respiratory virus season in North America is the trend data from the Southern Hemisphere’s experience. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the 2024 flu season, which is winding down this month, was similar to previous flu seasons in the Southern Hemisphere—a signal that northern countries may not see any particular highs or lows in terms of severity or case numbers. Flu activity in South …

ED Visit Times Increase Slightly To 163 Minutes

In 2023, the median emergency department (ED) visit time among U.S. hospitals was 163 minutes, an increase of just 1 minute over the previous year, according to new data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as reported by Becker’s. The latest dataset covers ED visits recorded from October 2022 through September 2023. Delta Health System’s Medical Center in Greenville, Mississippi, tops the list of hospitals or health systems with the longest median …

Ransomware Hacks Sold to Healthcare Cybercriminals

The Department of Health and Human Services’ cybersecurity center recently released an advisory about a “ransomware-as-a-service” group called Everest that is now focused on the $4 trillion healthcare industry. According to an emailed newsletter from the American Hospital Association, the group is known to access systems through compromised user accounts and remote access tools. The ransomware is designed to attack by initially gaining unauthorized access to an organization’s data through credential theft. The attacker then …

Free Home COVID Tests Launch in September Just as New Vaccine Arrives

This September, U.S. households will again be able to order up to 4 COVID-19 nasal-swab tests from COVIDtests.gov for free. Local health departments will also receive extra funding to offer free COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured and underinsured adults. Additionally, government-purchased supplies of the antiviral drug nirmatrelvir/ritonavir will be available at no cost to those who are uninsured or on Medicare or Medicaid. The government is also encouraging people to get the newly updated and recently …

Summer COVID-19 Cases Similar to Winter Surge

COVID-19’s summer surge has taken many urgent care centers by surprise. Respiratory viruses usually ramp up in October and continue on through late winter. However, record-high heat across the country could be driving more people to cool off indoors where the virus is more likely to spread. As of August 6, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that COVID-19 infections are growing or likely growing in 32 states. Meanwhile, the reported weekly positivity …

Oklahoma UC Owner Settles False Claims Lawsuit

According to the Department of Justice, Azhar Shakeel, MD, has settled with state and federal agencies for $619,994 to resolve a False Claims Act violation. Shakeel, who owns and operates Urgent Care of Muskogee, Urgent Care of Checotah, and Muskogee Medical Care in Oklahoma, allegedly submitted claims to several federally funded healthcare programs during times in which it was believed he was not actually in the centers seeing patients. A department press release notes that …

Emergency Department Visits Growing More Prevalent

Emergency department (ED) visits have been on an upward trend in the United States. A retrospective analysis of visit data from the National Center for Health Statistics published in Cureus found a consistent increase in overall ED visits among adults within the previous 12 months from 1999 to 2019. The prevalence of ED visits ranged from 17.2% +/- 0.3% in 1999 to 21.7% +/- 0.3% in 2019 with slightly higher visit rates among females than …

CVS Opens New In-Store Oak Street Clinics In Spite of Closure Trends

CVS Health is rolling out a new store structure in several markets that combines Oak Street Health clinics alongside the traditional retail pharmacy. About 2 dozen locations are open or set to open by the end of the year in New York City, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Chicago, and Columbus, Ohio, according to Forbes. CVS acquired Oak Street Health and its 200 clinics—which are largely focused on the Medicare Advantage market—for $10.6 billion in 2023. The …