Practice Management
Well before the COVID-19 virus reached pandemic proportions, opioid abuse and related overdoses and deaths had been declared an epidemic in the United States. However, thanks to factors such as social isolation, economic instability, fear over disease, and reduced access to health resources, drug overdoses have reached historic levels over the past 2 years—to the point that more than 100,000 Americans died of overdoses over the 12-month period ending in April 2021, according to the …
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Most Americans with typical jobs will be at home or visiting loved ones (possibly for the first time in years) over Thanksgiving weekend. Urgent care professionals do not have typical jobs, of course, so it’s possible that many will be reporting to work ready to care for patients who can’t wait for other medical practices to open and really don’t need to go to the hassle and expense of going to the emergency room for …
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CVSHealth says it’s going to close roughly 300 stores a year over the next 3 years—almost 10% of its locations across the country—in what it claims is a reaction to changing customer preferences. The company says it is also going to try new formats for its stores. Some will be “traditional” pharmacies that also offer retail products and some healthcare services ; others will still attempt to offer primary care services. While new versions of …
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A Colorado urgent care operator has been suspended from participating in the state’s COVID-19 vaccination program after an unannounced site inspection revealed “irregularities” ranging from the manner in which the vaccine was stored, high vaccine wastage, and inappropriate administration to patients outside of the recommended age group. To make matters worse, the state now considers any vaccinations administered at the now-suspended clinics to be invalid; patients who got their shots there will have to receive …
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With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention following the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to allow COVID-19 booster shots for all individuals over the age of 18, urgent care providers are emboldened to take the next step in their efforts to offer added protection to patients who completed their initial immunization at least 6 months ago. The CDC also strengthened a recommendation that everyone over the age of 50 should get …
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It’s been observed in numerous studies (some reported on by JUCM News) that some ethnic groups have fared better than others throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue of why that could be is a bit more complex, although a study just published by JAMA Network Open might suggest some answers. First, the data confirm the fact that African American, Hispanic, and Asian-American individuals have been more likely to test positive for and to be admitted …
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It didn’t take long for physicians to notice that patients with COVID-19 also came down with pink eye more often than patients who did not have the virus. According to information presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in New Orleans and reported by MedPage Today this week, however, patients with COVID-19 are also more likely to have photophobia, retinal hemorrhage, and optic neuritis. Those experiencing long-haul disease, in particular, seem …
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Just in time for the Thanksgiving break, incidence of COVID-19 is creeping up again in many areas within the United States. While that’s probably not surprising, given the ongoing relaxation of masking rules and slow uptake of vaccination among children, it is alarming when one considers that families and friend groups who passed on large group celebrations last year are gearing up to mass together for turkey day next week. According to data published by …
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration just issued an Emergency Temporary Standard intended to protect workers from getting infected with COVID-19 while they’re on the job. The short version is that the ETS requires businesses with more than 100 employees to either mandate COVID-19 vaccination for its workers or to implement a policy that gives employees the option of either getting vaccinated or undergoing weekly COVID-19 testing and wearing a face covering while at work. …
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COVID-19 continues to have many people a little skittish about rushing to the emergency room. And between the pandemic and staffing problems, even some hospital administrators are recommending that patients visit an urgent care center unless they truly have an emergency. As such, urgent care providers should be aware of a new study published by JAMA Network regarding the need for re-treatment of children who were hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia. The population consisted of 824 …
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