Study Lists Ways to Ensure a Positive Experience for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Study Lists Ways to Ensure a Positive Experience for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Children wind up in the urgent care center when they’re not at their best—sickly, often cranky, and not necessarily in the most compliant frame of mind. And that’s “typical” kids. The challenges can increase exponentially for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). How staff and clinicians deal with the patient and family in the urgent care center or emergency room can make all the difference in the world, though, facilitating a better clinical experience and …

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A 44-Year-Old Man with Intermittent Dizziness

Case A 44-year-old man presents to your urgent care center complaining of intermittent dizziness. He denies shortness of breath, fever, chest pain, and syncope. Upon exam, you find: General: Alert and oriented Lungs: CTAB Cardiovascular: RRR without murmur, rub, or gallop Abdomen: Soft and NT without r/r/g View the ECG and consider what the diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

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Clinical Challenge 2: April 2016

Case A 42-year-old woman presents with pain in her right shoulder that suddenly began after she caught herself with her raised right arm as she fell. She reports that she had been standing on a step stool and reaching for an object, and then fell forward. She has severe pain in the right shoulder, and it worsens with movement even through a minimal range of motion. She has associated numbness over the lateral portion of …

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Maintain Holiday Awareness and Post Hours for Independence Day

Maintain Holiday Awareness and Post Hours for Independence Day

The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission tells us we can expect a spike in emergency room visits on or around the Independence Day holiday next week. If you’ve done a good job of alerting your community to the fact that many ED-bound patients could be treated just as well (not to mention faster and less expensively) in your urgent care center, that means you can expect to see more traffic, too. Make sure your holiday …

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Colorado Hospital Sees Higher Pot-Related Visits Since Legalization

Colorado Hospital Sees Higher Pot-Related Visits Since Legalization

The number of marijuana-related visits to the emergency room and urgent care center at Children’s Hospital Colorado has more than quadrupled since Colorado legalized recreational use, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus reviewed ED and urgent care records for 13- to 21-year-olds, looking for visits where the patient either had a diagnostic code related to marijuana use or a positive urine screen; that number rose from 146 …

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New Limits on Prescribing Opioids for Acute Pain

New Limits on Prescribing Opioids for Acute Pain

Ohio is placing new limits on the prescribing of opioid medications for acute pain, forbidding clinicians from writing more than a 7-day supply for adults, or a 5-day supply for minors (down from up to 90 days, currently). Prescribers will be allowed to override the acute pain limit if they identify a specific reason in their patients’ medical records, though this is not likely to apply in the urgent care setting. Further, the limits do …

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Recognizing Ethical Companies in the Healthcare Marketplace

Recognizing Ethical Companies in the Healthcare Marketplace

Seven health systems—including more than one with a stake in the urgent care marketplace—are among the World’s Most Ethical Companies, according to a new listing from the Ethisphere Institute. Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), Baptist Health South Florida, Cleveland Clinic, Covenant Health, Northwell Health, Sharp HealthCare, and University Hospitals were all recognized for their ethics and compliance programs; corporate citizenship and responsibility; creating a culture of ethics; governance; and their leadership, innovation, and reputation. More …

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Is Your Patient Allergic to Ragweed, or Weed?

Is Your Patient Allergic to Ragweed, or Weed?

Spring has officially arrived, and with the snow continuing to melt it won’t be long before seasonal allergens are in full bloom. Urgent care physicians are reminded, however, that symptoms of allergic reactions to pollen and ragweed can be identical to those seen in patients who are allergic to cannabis, ranging from mild sinusitis to acute exacerbations of asthma. Since allergy panels don’t typically test for reaction to marijuana, the only way to get a …

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