More Kids Show Up in EDs With Behavioral Health Emergencies

More Kids Show Up in EDs With Behavioral Health Emergencies

A recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that school-age kids from 10 to 17 experience more emergency department (ED) visits during the school year than during summer break for behavioral health conditions such as depressive disorders, suicidal ideation, or self-harm. For some disorders, the visits double during the school year. In communities, the lack of mental health resources for kids in immediate need is clear. One emergency …

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Primary Care Outfit Aims to Productize Health Services With A.I.

Primary Care Outfit Aims to Productize Health Services With A.I.

Forward, a primary care provider that touts its foundational belief that “healthcare should be a product, not a service,” has revealed its latest project: self-serve CarePods that rely on apps and artificial intelligence (AI) for health screenings. Resembling the private, closet-like lactation rooms offered at some airports, these AI-based modules are setting up shop in offices, malls, and gyms. With an initial launch in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia, Forward’s CarePods require a …

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Texas UC Centers Managing Surge in Respiratory Illnesses

Texas UC Centers Managing Surge in Respiratory Illnesses

Urgent care centers and emergency departments (EDs) in Cook Children’s Medical Centers in Fort Worth and Prosper, Texas, are grappling with a sudden surge in RSV, influenza, and COVID-19. According to the medical center’s website, the hospitals are overwhelmed, struggling to accommodate infants with severe RSV cases. Last week, of the more than 800 RSV tests conducted, 29% were positive, while COVID-19 positivity stood at 4%. The medical center’s urgent care centers see about 800 …

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Urgent Team Partners With Baptist Memorial

Urgent Team Partners With Baptist Memorial

The Urgent Team Family of Urgent Care & Walk-In Centers recently announced a joint venture partnership with Baptist Memorial Health Care. The venture will create a branded network of walk-in urgent and family care centers throughout key markets in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Urgent Team currently operates more than 85 centers in five states under seven brands including Baptist Memorial. Beginning in Q1 of 2024, 10 existing Urgent Team locations will launch a rebranding as …

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Emergency Medicine Workers Emotionally Exhausted

Emergency Medicine Workers Emotionally Exhausted

A recent study of emergency medicine healthcare workers at a large urban medical center investigated the link between sleep disturbance, burnout, and emotional exhaustion. Published in JAMA Network Open, the study found that poor sleep quality increased the likelihood of elevated emotional exhaustion by 2.45 times, and insomnia symptoms were also associated with a more than doubling of emotional exhaustion. The research was conducted between November 2020 and January 2022, involving 126 workers who completed …

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Women Live Longer Than Men, Gap Widens Even More

Women Live Longer Than Men, Gap Widens Even More

There’s a widening gender gap when it comes to life expectancy, according to new research published in JAMA Internal Medicine. It turns out that men in the U.S. now live almost six years less than women. Researchers found life expectancy for men is 73.2 years, and for women it’s 79.1 years. The 5.8 year gap is the widest seen since 1996. In terms of trendlines, women do tend to live longer than men in countries throughout the …

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More Kids Could Benefit From Influenza Antivirals

More Kids Could Benefit From Influenza Antivirals

In a global study of more than 1.4 million outpatient and emergency department prescription claims for children between 2010 and 2019, as presented in Pediatrics, researchers found there is wide variability in prescribing as well as underuse of influenza antivirals for children. Kids were most commonly seen in outpatient office visits and urgent care settings. Oseltamivir was the most frequently prescribed antiviral (99.8%), which makes sense because it’s the only oral influenza antiviral approved by the FDA …

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Remind UC Employees of Workplace Policies

Remind UC Employees of Workplace Policies

In today’s political climate, tensions can run high even among friends and families. As such, employers are wise to revisit their conduct policies and make a point of having employees refresh their knowledge of workplace and social media expectations. Of course, it’s not possible or legal for an employer to fully control what their employees say on social media because the platform has free speech protections. That means employers cannot legally prevent employees from discussing …

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New Weight Loss Drug Also Reduces Cardiovascular Events

New Weight Loss Drug Also Reduces Cardiovascular Events

In a noteworthy session last week at the American Heart Association conference, researchers presented evidence that the obesity drug semaglutide (Wegovy), a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, demonstrated benefits beyond weight loss by reducing the overall rate of major cardiovascular concerns by 20%. In the results of double-blind trial, which appear in the New England Journal of Medicine, they found a reduced incidence of heart attacks, cardiovascular-related deaths, and strokes. Semaglutide notably reduced heart attacks by …

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Urgent Care Leaders Promote Antibiotic Awareness Week

Urgent Care Leaders Promote Antibiotic Awareness Week

Antibiotic Awareness Week begins November 18. The Urgent Care Association, the College of Urgent Care Medicine (CUCM), and the Urgent Care Foundation (UCF) are promoting antibiotic stewardship in urgent care medicine by reinforcing best-practice objectives and action points. In May 2022, UCF was awarded a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to further antibiotic stewardship. This inaugural federal award for UCF is now funding UCA and CUCM activities as part of a five-year cooperative agreement that …

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