Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Another Application for Telemedicine: Adolescent Concussions

Add adolescent concussion to the growing list of conditions for which telemedicine can be useful, in terms of effectiveness, cost, and satisfaction scores, according to data presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Researchers employed a nurse practitioner-led, remote assessment of young athletes (13–18 years of age) with concussions, in conjunction with in-person athletic trainers. The most common positive feedback involved the accessibility of the program from any location, notably …

Too Many Kids Head to Primary Care, Not Urgent Care, with Suspected Concussions

New data published in JAMA Pediatrics indicate that far too many children suspected of having a concussion are evaluated first in a primary care office. Between 2010 and 2014, 81.9% of young patients ultimately seen at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) had their first concussion-related healthcare visit in the primary care setting. Urgent care was a nonfactor, as the remainder sought care first in the emergency room (not surprising, given that the data set was …

New Blood Test on Par with CT in Confirming Childhood Concussions

Urgent care centers that align themselves with schools and youth athletic programs should take note of a study showing that a blood test was able to confirm concussions in children with 94% accuracy—and to provide critical information on the severity of the concussion. While the reliability of the test was “competitive with CT scan,” it offered key advantages that may appeal to urgent care operators: namely, lower cost and none of the risks inherent to …