Practice Management
On February 5, 2024, the Bouncebacks! book club will talk through a new case from the book “Bouncebacks! Critical Care” (published in 2021) from 8PM to 9PM (Eastern) in a virtual meeting room. Fellow clinicians can join in the discussion of a case of a 52-year-old man with alcohol use disorder and chest pain. All the related information will be presented, and ownership of the book is not required to participate. Panelists include Heath Jolliff, …
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The Food And Drug Administration recently approved a device that provides non-invasive skin cancer screening at the point of care, according to Reuters. DermaSensor, a privately held company, says its spectroscopy technology can use light and artificial intelligence to evaluate cellular and subcellular characteristics to assist clinicians in identifying the presence of skin cancer in suspicious moles or lesions. A study by the Mayo Clinic of more than 1,000 patients showed that the device had …
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More parents are bringing their kids to urgent care, according to new national trend data captured in a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The percentage of children and adolescents (17 years old and younger) who had at least 1 visit to an urgent care center or a retail clinic in the past 12 months increased from 21.6% in 2021 to 28.4% in 2022. When CDC broke down the data into …
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In New Jersey, Hackensack Meridian Health is now offering its HMH Urgent Care, which integrates behavioral health with same-day urgent care and telemedicine visits. According to Becker’s Hospital Review, it’s the first urgent care that simultaneously provides both immediate medical care and services for psychiatric conditions as part of a strategy to reduce emergency department visits. The HMH Urgent Care suite includes short-term outpatient care for those 16 years and older to address anxiety, depression, mood …
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The JN.1 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus appears to be more contagious than other members of the Omicron family, driving indicators of infection levels and COVID-19 illness. Even so, this currently circulating variant seems to produce a more mild illness with less need for medical attention. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as reported in JAMA Network shows emergency department visits for COVID-19 are down 21% this year, and the percentage of …
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Massachusetts regulators are considering new measures to create a standard licensure for urgent care (UC) centers in the state in an effort to “apply care standards and improve quality of care,” according to the Worcester Business Journal. Officials also want the ability to collect uniform quality-of-care data from all UC operators, noting that last year, only about one-fourth of the centers in the state reported their data to the US Centers for Disease Control and …
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GoHealth Urgent Care recently announced plans to craft new health system partnerships and to open its 300th center location by the end of the year, according to a company press release. GoHealth currently operates about 270 centers in several states. At the same time, the company also announced leadership expansions to complement its growth strategy. Todd Latz, GoHealth’s Chief Executive Officer, noted two newly created roles on the executive team: Tom Oram will become the Chief …
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The glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic) was found to demonstrate no increased risk of suicidal ideation in patients with obesity or type 2 diabetes, according to retrospective analyses of electronic health records examining these patient populations, published in Nature Medicine. Researchers’ analysis of 240,618 patients who were overweight/obese showed that those taking semaglutide had a significantly lower risk (0.11%) of suicidal ideation compared with those using non-GLP-1 anti-obesity medications (0.43%). In …
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The overarching surge in emergency department (ED) visits nationwide has created an access issue marked by prolonged patient wait times and healthcare provider burnout, according to an influencer article in Med City News by Benjamin Barlow, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Experity. Dr. Barlow notes patients often disregard urgent care (UC) as a viable alternative to the ED, which contributes to the strain on ED clinical teams. Too often, consumers seek non-emergent healthcare in EDs …
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To adapt to the increased demand for urgent care (UC), Eskenazi Health in Indiana has evolved its clinics into hybrid centers that offer urgent care, primary care, and specialty care, including behavioral health, according to the Indy Star. Providers who typically see patients with seasonal respiratory viruses and other UC-appropriate concerns have regularly addressed mental health crises and referred patients to specialist care. The news outlet reports that provider shortages are driving consumers to urgent …
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