Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

American Family Care Launches Weight Management

American Family Care recently started offering semaglutide injections for weight management at its two suburban facilities located in Willowbrook and Naperville, Illinois, near Chicago. Available since May 2023, the service has enrolled approximately 50 patients who receive weekly injections, according to a Chicago NBC affiliate. American Family Care clinicians screen patients prior to treatment to ensure they meet criteria. Specifically, candidates must exhibit a body mass index (BMI) of 30—which is indicative of obesity—or a …

Supplier Hit By Cyber Attack

The distribution arm of medical supplier Henry Schein was shut down by a cyber attack on October 15. According to SecurityWeek, the company’s 1 million global customers could not place orders, and shipments were halted. The company said its practice management software was not impacted, however. Now what: Cyber attacks are increasing in frequency as well as the scale of their financial impact on healthcare organizations and their partners. “Have a secondary supplier to fall …

Allina Clinicians Vote to Unionize

Hundreds of physicians along with approximately 150 nurse practitioners and physician assistants caring for patients in the Allina Health system have voted in favor of unionizing. Allina Health told an ABC News affiliate on Sunday that it will agree to recognize the new union. Once the union is officially certified, it will represent what could be the largest private sector physician’s union in the country. This decision follows the clinical teams’ concerns over issues such …

How Serious is the Nursing Shortage?

In 2022, the American Hospital Association reported a projected shortage of 1.1 million nurses, meanwhile, National Nurses United said that there’s no nursing shortage but rather a lack of nurses willing to work under the current conditions. Experts suggest that both sides have valid points, according to a deep dive by STAT News. Most nurses are emphasizing the need for more staff to provide proper patient care. Yet organizations face rising labor costs as they …

Antibiotic Awareness Week for UC Providers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is raising awareness about the importance of improving antibiotic and antifungal use during US Antibiotic Awareness Week, November 18-24. Through communication strategies, CDC is reinforcing messages to patients and providers to remind them that anytime antibiotics or antifungals are used, they can cause side effects and contribute to antimicrobial resistance. Additionally, the agency is recognizing that health inequities can result from less-than-optimal antibiotic or antifungal prescribing practices, which …

Sniffling Leads to Sneaking a Dose of Leftover Antibiotics

Individuals are obtaining antibiotics that were not prescribed for them from a variety of sources—including other countries, the internet, friends, relatives, or from previous prescriptions—and using them to self-treat their cold and flu symptoms, according to a press release from the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Convenience, past treatment experiences, and the hassle of navigating the healthcare system are among the reasons patients said they take the “nonprescription” antibiotics. The study was presented by the Baylor College …

CA $25 Minimum Wage Has Ripple Effect on Access

As previously reported in JUCM News, California is set to raise minimum wages for healthcare workers to $25—and that specifically includes urgent care employees. The new minimum wage law was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last week, and it allows pay hikes to phase in over time, beginning in June 2024 at $21 per hour, then rising to $22 per hour starting in June 2026, finally reaching $25 per hour in June 2027. Some organizations …

Rite Aid Restructures in Competitive Environment

Across the retail landscape, Rite Aid has appointed a new CEO and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a restructuring plan to reduce its debt. The drugstore chain has been contending with declining sales, mounting debt, and multiple lawsuits related to the opioid epidemic, according to Yahoo News. Consequently, the company anticipates losses of $650-680 million by late February. What’s the outlook like? Rite Aid certainly has a lot of ground to cover. Larger rivals …

Diabetes Among Kids Increased Since the Pandemic

Rates of new-onset type 2 diabetes increased by 62% and type 1 diabetes by 17% among US youth after the COVID-19 pandemic began, with a significant rise observed in Black and Hispanic populations, according to a study in JAMA Network Open. The study, conducted by Kaiser Permanente researchers, tracked diabetes rates among individuals 0 to 19 years old with no prior diabetes history from January 2016 to December 2021. The impact was particularly pronounced in: …

How Proposed Michigan Rule Reduces the Pool of X-ray Techs

The Administrative Rules Division of Michigan is recommending the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration adopt American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) standards for staff members who take x-ray images. Currently, Michigan does not require specific training for non-exempted x-ray techs—being one of approximately 10 states that allows urgent care (UC) employers to provide their own on-the-job training. However, if the ARRT proposal is adopted, x-ray techs would need an associate’s degree from an approved …