A 64-year-old man presents to urgent care with a lesion on his face for the last 2 months. On examination, a shiny, eroded, blue-black nodule was seen on his right cheek. He is a postal worker. Histopathology examination showed aggregates of melanin and melanocytes within sheets of basaloid keratinocytes with peripheral palisading and surrounding clefts within a fibromyxoid stroma containing melanophages. View the image above and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. …
Read More4-Year-Old With Right-Sided Pelvic Pain
On a Friday afternoon, a worried mother brings her 4-year-old daughter to the urgent care. She says the girl is complaining that her “side hurts.” The mother can’t recall any recent falls or injuries. Review the image of the anterior to posterior (AP) pelvis taken upon presentation and consider possible diagnoses and next steps you would recommend to the family.
Read MoreOnc Journal Advocates Trying to Keep Cancer Patients Out of the ED
The emergency room presents bit of a paradox for many cancer patients, according to a new article published in the journal Oncology Nurse Advisor: A trip to the ED is risky for anyone with a compromised immune system—which would apply to many oncology patients—but at the same time cancer and related treatment can cause a seemingly endless list of complications that require immediate attention. “Visiting the ED is often a portal to hospitalization for these …
Read MoreHopkins Tries Urgent Care for Cancer Patients
Patients being treated for cancer have medical needs that extend far beyond their most critical diagnosis—more than a few of which are a result of their treatment. Johns Hopkins Hospital is offering them a place to go besides the emergency room when they’re suffering with pain, fever, nausea, or anything else for which they need immediate care, by creating an urgent care center specifically for them. Besides the long waits and generalized care they can …
Read MoreMalpractice Trends in Urgent Care and Retail Medicine
JOHN SHUFELDT, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP with ANDREW SNIEGOWSKI, RN, JD CANDIDATE 2014 Over the last 6 years I have written a number of articles on medical malpractice in urgent care medicine. The good news is that I am seeing fewer cases despite the fact that there are more urgent care centers and more patient visits. The bad news is that I am still seeing the same fact patterns time and again. Failure to diagnose …
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