Practice Management
A mother brought her 4-week-old daughter to the doctor concerned about a vesicular rash that developed on the girl’s back within the last day. On examination, tiny vesicles in a primarily truncal distribution were seen. The patient had no systemic symptoms and appeared well. View the image taken and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.
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Urgent message: Parallel lacerations or those that simply occur in close proximity pose a unique challenge for the urgent care clinician. Repairing either wound without inflicting further trauma on the other(s) requires both skill and familiarity with performing the appropriate technique. Patrick O’Malley, MD The Problem Lacerations in close proximity pose a unique challenge for the urgent care clinician. This situation is often encountered in the unfortunate setting of patients engaged in “cutting” behaviors. Narrow …
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Urgent message: As urgent care volume has dropped from pandemic highs, the average cost per click of Google Ads for searches related to “urgent care” has gone up—often considerably.” Advertisers need to understand the factors that affect these costs in order to optimize their budgets. Ira Pasternack The Google Ads Auction Framework Google Ads is built on an auction model that determines the cost of “clicks.” Every time a search occurs, Google uses an algorithm …
Read MoreThe urgent care industry is in its fifth decade and still growing! The driving forces of affordability and accessibility continue to fuel this growth. Success has been propelled by the agility of urgent care operators in adjusting their business model to meet the demands of their communities. Initially, urgent care centers were a welcome supplement in communities where the emergency department was the only option for medical care apart from PCPs or specialist offices. Roughly …
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Urgent message: Industry perception is that urgent care offers the opportunity for potentially substantial cost savings while also providing safe, effective care for complaints of appropriate acuity. Data supporting those claims have been lacking, however. Lo Fu Tan, MD, MS, FCFP, FAAFP and Jillian Kreston, MBA, MEcon Citation: Tan L F, Kreston J. Cost-effective ambulatory care for emergency department avoidance. J Urgent Care Med. 2022;16(10):25-32. BACKGROUND A 2019 brief published by the United Health Group …
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Urgent message: Though data are limited and approaches to burn blister management remain controversial (eg, leaving blisters intact vs deroofing or aspirating), appropriate initial care in the urgent care setting is both feasible and advisable and can reduce risk for infection and scarring. Muhammad Zeeshan Ahmed MBBS, FRNZCUC, Winston McEwan FRACS, and Sana Maqsood MPhil, Cert PH Citation: Ahmed MZ, McEwan W, Maqsood S. Management of burn blisters in urgent care. J Urgent Care Med. …
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Urgent message: Use of a finger tourniquet can ensure a bloodless field when performing laceration repair to fingers and toes, thereby reducing risk for damage to underlying vital structures and increasing the prospects for positive outcomes. Patrick O’Malley, MD After repairing scores of finger lacerations over the years, I have learned there are a few essential supplies required for these cases; the most critical among them, however, is the finger tourniquet. This simple device makes …
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An 87-year-old male with past medical history of valvular atrial fibrillation, prior stroke, and heart failure presents to urgent care with chest pain and shortness of breath for 3 days. The pain and difficulty breathing are associated with bilateral lower extremity swelling for 1 week. View the ECG taken and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.
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Colchicine in Acute Gout POCUS and Necrotizing Fasciitis Assessing Patient Satisfaction Misinterpreting Pediatric Radiographs Lung Ultrasound and Pediatric Pneumonia Diagnosing Pneumothorax A Review of the Evidence for Colchicine in Acute Gout Take-home point: Colchicine appears to be no more effective than NSAIDs for acute gout flares and evidence does not indicate greater efficacy at higher doses. Citation: Gottlieb M, Rabah W, Long B. Colchicine for acute gout. Acad Emerg Med. 2022;29(3):387-388. Epub ahead of print …
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Urgent message: De novo growth of urgent care continued through the pandemic. As COVID turns endemic, investors remain bullish on urgent care growth. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Despite concerns about fluctuating visit volumes and long-term sustainability, uncertainty and urgent care have always gone hand in hand. Case in point: Largely driven by flu, the urgent care industry has firsthand insight into years of flu research, seasonal trends, and vaccine efficacy. Yet amid everything we …
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