Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Epic Comes Under Fire for Possible Anticompetitive Practices

It’s common for competitors to question each other’s practices as they fight for every percentage point of market share—less so for potential customers to accuse companies of being “one of the biggest impediments to innovation in healthcare.” That’s what happened recently in the EMR marketplace, though, as Fairview Health Services CEO James Hereford leveled that very charge at Epic, the EMR provider, according to an article in the St. Paul Business Journal. Epic has been …

New Approaches to Opioid Abuse Zero in on Physicians

As researchers and legislators in some states consider restrictions on physicians to write prescriptions for opioid pain medications, new research indicates there could be a way to continue prescribing safely—albeit a way that is likely to raise some eyebrows. First, in Indiana, the state hospital association, medical association, and health department have pooled their resources to create guidelines for physicians in the state. In a nutshell, they’re advising physicians to cut back on prescribing opioids …

Prepare for—and Educate Patients About—‘Other’ Seasonal Complaints

Influenza tends to get all the headlines at this time of year, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only seasonal complaint patients are likely to present with at urgent care centers. Frigid temperatures and icy roadways and sidewalks are sending many patients to healthcare providers in multiple settings. Local newspapers in the Davenport, IA area recently noted that nearly 300 people were treated for falls and other weather-related hazards over the space of a couple …

Urgent Care to Write Home (or the Local Paper) About

When a patient leaves your urgent care center after receiving excellent care and service, usually the most you hope for is that they’ll tell a friend. When they decide they want to tell the whole community, you know you’re doing something right. Such was the case for a patient after visiting Virtua Urgent Care in Voorhees Township, NJ the morning of New Year’s Eve. As he recounts in a letter to the Courier-Post, he woke …

New Data Track Pediatric Use of Urgent Care

A new report published in the Journal of Pediatrics reveals traits common to pediatric Medicaid patients who visit urgent care centers. Roughly 8% of the 2.7 million children under age 19 in the 2013 Marketscan Medicaid database had at least one urgent care visit. More common attributes among those included age 1-2 years and presence of a complex chronic condition. “High” urgent care utilization was associated with five or more primary care visits for acute …

The Holiday Rush Isn’t Over for Urgent Care

The retail frenzy may subside once Christmas Day is past, but spikes in holiday traffic continue for immediate care providers. Emergency rooms and urgent care centers see their busiest days of the year during the end-of-year holidays, traditionally. Whether it’s food poisoning or carving injuries that present the day after Thanksgiving, broken bones sustained while hanging Christmas lights, or various injuries associated with over-celebrating the New Year, EDs around the country report their visits increase …

WVU Urgent Care Promotes Its Approach to Non–Opiate Pain Care

Apparently recognizing that the general public has become aware of the life-threatening dangers of opioid pain medications, WVU Urgent Care has taken the initiative to promote its non–opioid philosophy for pain management. In an article posted their website, they take a stab at educating patients on other options that may be appropriate to help diminish pain, depending on the patient’s condition and needs. In that article, WVU Urgent Care physician Saira George, MD explains that the …

Data Quantify Value of Physician Ed in Reducing Antibiotic Prescriptions

Kaiser Permanente in Southern California reports that using computer alerts to inform physicians when antibiotics may not be the best course of treatment for sinusitis reduced the chance of an antibiotic being prescribed—with some qualifiers. The study, published recently in the American Journal of Managed Care, tracked nearly 22,000 cases of acute sinusitis in adults in primary care and urgent care offices. Researchers found that clinical decision support was associated with a 22% decrease in …

Spokane VA Opts to Expand Urgent Care Hours Instead of Reopening ED

Plans to reopen an emergency room that closed in 2014 have been scrapped in favor of expanding the hours of a nearby urgent care center in Spokane, WA. Administrators at the Mann-Grandstaff Veterans Affairs Medical Center haven’t hired enough physicians to staff the ED, so rather than delay further or try to get by on insufficient staffing, the plan is to keep the urgent care center open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. …

Guidelines Push for More Patients to Receive Shingles Vaccinations

Patients in the 50- to 59-year-old age range should receive vaccination against shingles, according to the latest recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). That guidance accompanied a rare—and nearly evenly split—nod to one vaccine over another. In an 8-7 vote, ACIP recommended the recently approved Shingrix (GlaxoSmithKline) over Zostavex (Merck). Both vaccines are FDA-approved for use in patients 50 and over, but ACIP recommends Zostavex only in patients over the age of …