Practice Management
Bradley L. Laymon, PA-C, CPC, CEMC PRESENTATION A mother brings in her 4-year-old, who has never visited your urgent care center before, with complaints of fever and sore throat. The mother provides the HPI. She explains that the child’s symptoms have been present for 2 days. During that time, the patient’s temperature rose to a high of 101.5°F (38.6°C). Ibuprofen has been effective in reducing the fever. The girl was exposed to COVID-19 at daycare …
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Bradley L. Laymon, PA-C, CPC, CEMC PRESENTATION A 47-year-old established male patient presented after 2 days of COVID-like symptoms (fever >100.5°F, cough, headache). Symptoms were mild and constant. He denied chest pain, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, rash, dizziness, and nausea/vomiting/diarrhea. He reported trying to alleviate the symptoms with acetaminophen and guaifenesin, with minimal relief. He has no known allergies The patient, who had never tested positive for COVID-19, acknowledged recent exposure to a colleague …
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X-rays are high on the list of services patients expect urgent care centers to provide when needed. Currently, however, a dearth of qualified technicians can make guaranteeing that they can do so somewhat challenging. The November issue of JUCM will start an in-depth discussion of how the industry can best approach meeting that challenge for the benefit of the patient and the individual operator. One essential part of that discussion will be answering the question …
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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 …
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Urgent message: Over the past 15 years, the nation’s largest food, drug, and mass retailers have announced clinic initiatives with great fanfare. However, we’ve heard little as these initiatives have quietly retreated and re-trenched, coincidently during the same period that urgent care has boomed. Alan Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Senior Editor, Practice Management of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine Retail clinics—does anyone care anymore? Given there’s not been an “industry” update tallying the number of …
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The patient is a 60-year-old woman who presents to urgent care after developing dark areas over both legs over the course of the past few days. They are extremely painful. On examination, there were violaceous and dark brown, retiform plaques, some depressed and some crusted, over the legs. The patient has a history of diabetes, hypertension, and chronic renal insufficiency for which she required hemodialysis. View the image and consider what your diagnosis and next …
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Urgent message: Acute or chronic hallux pain is a common complaint in urgent care. Due to the structure, several diagnoses can have similar presentation on history and exam. With this discussion, we examine a sesamoid stress injury. Sergio P. Ramoa, MD, MS INTRODUCTION The tibial (medial) and fibular (lateral) sesamoids are contained within the flexor hallucis brevis tendons along the metatarsal head.1 They have several roles such as absorbing weight, helping glide and reducing friction …
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Urgent message: Rashes are a common ailment, and their etiology can have overlapping appearances. In a case where rash does not improve with treatment, it is often necessary to reconsider the differential. Sergio Ramoa MD, MS INTRODUCTION It is common for providers to have difficulty diagnosing patients who present with rash due to the diverse appearances, as well as overlapping similarities, of different etiologies. Due to the extensive nature of rashes, this article will focus …
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Urgent message Gender bias, whether overt or subconscious, may be to blame for disparities in hiring practices, salary, and advancement in medical schools, the urgent care setting, and any healthcare workplace. Recognizing the value of gender-neutral assessment may not only “even the playing field,” but increase the likelihood of identifying the best candidates for clinical positions. Michael Pallaci, DO; Jennifer Beck-Esmay, MD; Adam R. Aluisio, MD, MSc; Michael Weinstock, MD; Allen Frye, NP; Ashley See, …
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