Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Overdoses: Fastest-Growing Cause of Workplace Deaths—What Are You Going to Do About It?

More than 5,000 people die in workplaces every year in the United States, most often from violence, exposure to toxic chemicals, or traffic accidents. Drug overdose is catching up, though, as the fastest-growing cause of death on the job, according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of fatal overdoses from illicit drug or alcohol use in the workplace jumped 32% from 2015 to 2016. While the grand total of 217 …

Spike in Drug Abuse and Overdose Deaths Makes Workplace Drug Testing an Urgent Matter

With approximately 70% of the 14.8 million Americans who abuse drugs being employed, and the rate of deaths from overdose continuing to climb annually, workplace drug testing has become a key service for urgent care operators that offer occupational medicine services. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims there’s been a 200% increase in the rate of overdose deaths attributed to opioid pain medications and heroin, and that nearly 2 million people in the …

Acetaminophen Overdose Antidote Recalled

Urgent care clinics that stock the acetaminophen overdose antidote acetylcysteine should check their inventory for three specific lots of the drug distributed by Arbor Pharmaceuticals under the trade name Cetylev. Arbor has recalled lot numbers 005C16, 006C16, and 007C16, with expiration date 02/2018 and with National Drug Code (NDC) 24338-700-10 of the 500 mg effervescent tablets for oral solution because of an inadequate seal of the blister pack. The Food and Drug Administration says the …