Practice Management
Americans have been smoking less and less for years—that is, until social distancing pushed many to take up or increase the habit, according to data from Altria Group Inc., which owns the Marlboro cigarette brand. Sales were flat in 2020 after falling annually 5.5% the previous year, a slide that started years earlier thanks in part to steep taxes on cigarettes and the growing popularity of vaping devices, including e-cigarettes. This reversal comes at a …
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As we’ve noted in recent weeks, urgent care had a tough time of it through much of 2020, from challenges in receiving COVID-19 testing supplies to patients who were unnecessarily afraid to visit their local urgent care center. Now, though, in spite of again being overlooked as a potentially valuable partner in vaccinating the country against the virus, visits to urgent care centers are actually up 67% vs the previous 3-year average according to data …
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When the COVID-19 pandemic first started taking hold, it seemed like pharmacies in the United States could get all the testing supplies they needed while urgent care centers were relegated to the sidelines. Now that several viable vaccines are available, that balance has yet to shift in any substantive way. Sure, hospitals and local and regional public health agencies are also conducting immunization programs but urgent care is again getting short shrift—but this time others …
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As more data on COVID-19 emerge, urgent care patients need to be educated on what to expect not only during acute illness (such as the need for quarantining and when hospitalization may be warranted), but also on the lasting effects of the disease even after it has resolved. The Lancet just published a study revealing that most patients (63%) still complain of fatigue or muscle weakness 6 months post resolution, with over 20% continuing to …
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Increasing legal availability, shutdown of many bars and restaurants, and overall anxiety related to the pandemic are likely responsible for significant growth in the U.S. marijuana market in 2020. The cannabis website Leafly reports that sales grew at least 67% last year; it’s now a $17.9 billion industry in this country. While that’s clearly good for that marketplace, it’s safe to say that urgent care centers could see more patients presenting with potentially serious complaints …
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Telehealth accounted for 5.6% of medical claims in October 2020—compared with 0.18% of claims in October 2019, according to FAIR Health’s Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker. Given that cases of COVID-19 are climbing again, it’s unlikely the volume of virtual visits and ensuing claims will go down anytime soon. Consequently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has extended COVID-19’s status as a public health emergency, and with it key waivers for telehealth until April …
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Urgent care operators who missed the boat on the first round of Paycheck Protection Program loans from the Small Business Administration—or those who have already taken part and need additional help—take heed: the window for both the first and second draw is open again. As in the first leg of the program, loans are actually issued through particular banks, though the SBA has set up a lender match feature to help applicants connect with lenders. …
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Whatever degree of comfort there might have been in knowing variants in the COVID-19 virus occurred far from U.S. shores has disappeared with the news that a new one has been identified in California. It was discovered, independently, by two research teams who were looking for indications that the British variant could have crossed “the pond.” While they did find a few such cases in a couple of southern California counties, the more important discovery …
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Fear was high that the arrival of flu season would compound the mass illness and mounting deaths associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. As we reach the midway point, however, influenza has hardly been a blip on the screen. According to the World Health Organization, this is likely due to precautions against the coronavirus also having a protective effect for flu. While COVID-19 deniers scoff at such things, it’s clear that most Americans are in fact …
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Patients who recover from COVID-19 infection may be comforted by new data suggesting their antibodies could provide at least 5 months of protection from new infection. The Sarscov2 Immunity & Reinfection EvaluationN (SIREN) study indicates that recovered individuals have at least 83% protection from reinfection over that time period, if not longer. However, as noted in an article posted by Medscape, some of those patients may still be capable of transmitting the virus to people …
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