Original Research: Early Diabetes Screening in the Urgent Care, Part 1

Original Research: Early Diabetes Screening in the Urgent Care, Part 1

Urgent message: Undiagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus affects more than 9 million Americans. This first part of a two-part article focuses on evaluation of diabetes screening for the adult urgent care patient in whom diabetes has not been diagnosed, using effective early disease-detection strategies to reduce the long-term burden of diabetes. How this article helps you: by providing data to assist you in deciding about screening in your center. Introduction There are now more than …

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U.S. Tuberculosis Cases Up for the First Time in 23 Years

U.S. Tuberculosis Cases Up for the First Time in 23 Years

After a decades-long slog toward elimination of tuberculosis in the United States, 2015 saw a slight increase in the number of domestic TB cases. While around half of all reported cases occurred in Texas, California, Florida, and New York, 29 states and the District of Columbia reported increases over 2014. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that lower funding of TB prevention programs may be on reason, urgent care clinicians faced with …

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Urgent Care Management of Acute Otitis Media in Children

Urgent Care Management of Acute Otitis Media in Children

Urgent message: The possibility of ear infection is the most common reason parents seek care for their young children during viral upper respiratory infections with fever. Urgent care providers should know the new criteria for making the clinical diagnosis and how to use technology such as an acoustic otoscope before concluding that antibiotics are necessary. MICHAEL E. PICHICHERO, MD Diagnosing acute otitis media (AOM) is a visual process based on viewing the eardrum and determining …

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Urgent Care Diagnosis and Management of Tick-Borne Diseases

Urgent Care Diagnosis and Management of Tick-Borne Diseases

Urgent message: As the incidence of tick bites increases, it is imperative for urgent care physicians to be able to recognize various species of ticks and the symptoms of tick-borne illnesses and to know what to do when a patient presents with a tick bite. TOYIN FAPOHUNDA-ADEKOLA, MD, MBA Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne infection in the United States (Figure 1) and Europe. With a total of 279,509 cases reported between 2003 and …

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Impact of a Pharmacist-Provided Comprehensive Medication Review Service for Urgent Care Patients

Impact of a Pharmacist-Provided Comprehensive Medication Review Service for Urgent Care Patients

Urgent message: Urgent care centers are encouraged to meet best practices for communication during transitions of care. Partnering with pharmacists may optimize medication therapy for patients, helping fulfill these best practices. JENNIFER A. FLAVIN, PharmD, CHRISTOPHER G. GREEN, PharmD, STEPHANIE C. COOK, DO, and STUART J. BEATTY, PharmD, BCACP Objective: This study aimed to (1) evaluate the impact of a pharmacist-provided comprehensive medication review (CMR) service on medication therapy appropriateness, safety, efficacy, and adherence for …

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Early Flu Deaths May Stoke Vaccinations

Early Flu Deaths May Stoke Vaccinations

As reports of deaths due to seasonal flu start to trickle in—eg, Iowa and California just announced their first flu-related fatalities of the season—patients on the fence about getting vaccinated may be moved to head to the urgent care center for a shot. Not coincidentally, some clinics are already expanding their hours to meet what is expected to be increased demand. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention views the flu “season” as lasting from …

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An Urgent Care Approach to Burns

An Urgent Care Approach to Burns

Urgent message: Burn injuries present with varying degrees of involvement and severity. It is vital that providers in an urgent care facility understand burn classification, treatments, and, most important, which burn patients can be treated in an outpatient setting and which patients require a higher level of care. DREW LONG, BS, BRIT LONG, MD, and ALEX KOYFMAN, MD Introduction Burn injuries are often devastating and are a leading cause of accidental injury and trauma in …

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Managing Hypertensive Emergencies in the Urgent Care Setting

Managing Hypertensive Emergencies in the Urgent Care Setting

Urgent message: Health-care practitioners frequently see patients in urgent care centers who have elevated blood pressure. It is vital that they be able to identify hypertensive emergencies to immediately start lowering such patients’ blood pressure and then transfer them to an emergency department, to avoid hypertensive damage to the brain, heart, and kidneys. JON JUHASZ, MD Introduction Elevated blood pressure (BP) is very common in the urgent care setting, oftentimes from pain or from chronic …

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Fever Phobia: Urgent Fears in Urgent Care

Fever Phobia: Urgent Fears in Urgent Care

Urgent message: Fear of fever leads many parents to seek urgent care. Addressing their fears should be part of the care of febrile children. DEENA R. ZIMMERMAN, MD, MPH, IBCLC; NAHUM KOVALSKI, MD; BARUCH HAIN, BA; and JOSHUA LIPSITZ, PHD In several studies, researchers have found that a large percentage of parents have fever phobia, or inaccurate beliefs about the harmfulness of an elevated body temperature. Those studies were conducted in primary-care settings, so we …

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