Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Practice Management

 

When the ‘Inner Entrepreneur’ Needs to Step Aside

By bnapolitano  /  February 1, 2019
Urgent message: Being an aggressive founder who is willing to take risks is invaluable when it comes to starting and…
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When the ‘Inner Entrepreneur’ Needs to Step Aside

Provider Burnout is Real; Show Compassion for Yourself

By bnapolitano  /  February 11, 2019
 Urgent message: The life of an urgent care physician entails having compassion for patients, but to prevent the very real…
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Provider Burnout is Real; Show Compassion for Yourself

Shortness of Breath in a Postprocedural Pneumothorax

By bnapolitano  /  February 1, 2019
Urgent message: Patient histories can be helpful in guiding the examination and raising red flags for possible diagnosis. However, it…
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Shortness of Breath in a Postprocedural Pneumothorax

Postoperative Complications in the Urgent Care Setting

By bnapolitano  /  February 1, 2019
Urgent message: Patients who have had recent surgical procedures may present to urgent care centers for reasons ranging from seeking…
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Postoperative Complications in the Urgent Care Setting

A 30-Year-Old Female with Bilateral Knee Pain

By bnapolitano  /  February 18, 2019
A 30-year-old woman presented to urgent care complaining of bilateral knee pain. She denies any strenuous activity, falls, or recent…
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A 30-Year-Old Female with Bilateral Knee Pain

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Urgent Care News

More Ambulances May Be Rolling Up to Urgent Care, Thanks to the Department of Health

Picture a Medicare patient who needs to see a provider today. It’s not an emergency, …
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More Data Show Younger Patients Are Drawn to Urgent Care over ‘Traditional’ Healthcare

Millennials and “Gen Zers” are more likely than Baby Boomers and Gen Xers to shun …
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When Even the Low Coast of Urgent Care is Too Much for Some Patients

One of the key attributes of urgent care is that the cost is lower than …
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New Regs Would Make It Easier for Patient to Access Their Own Health Information

Sometimes it may seem to patients like it would take an act of Congress for …
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UCA Webinar: Keep Your Urgent Care Center on the Right Side of HIPAA Requirements

HIPAA is as complex as it is necessary, especially with the threat of data breaches …
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Web Exclusive Articles

Provider Burnout is Real; Show Compassion for Yourself

 Urgent message: The life of an urgent care physician entails having compassion for patients, but …
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The Comfort Elephant in the (Waiting) Room

Urgent message: Helping staff understand the difference between true service animals, vs those that merely …
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Don’t Let Envy Destroy Your Urgent Care Team

 Urgent message: In a world that is ultra-competitive, there is no way to avoid envy …
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Want to Be a Better Urgent Care Manager? Get to Bed!

Urgent message: While many rising managers believe there is virtue to “burning the midnight oil,” …
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Think You Can Spot Strong Leadership? Think Again!

Urgent message: While developing “leaders” seek to emulate the behaviors of other strong leaders, such …
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Clinical Articles

Postoperative Complications in the Urgent Care Setting

Urgent message: Patients who have had recent surgical procedures may present to urgent care centers for reasons ranging from seeking …
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Unexpected Viral Illness in an Urgent Care Setting: The Re-Emergence of Mumps, Measles, and Varicella

 Urgent message: Urgent care providers often see acute public health emergencies due to easy patient accessibility. It is important to …
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Treating Patients Infected with Influenza Virus in the Urgent Care Setting

Urgent message: As patients start to feel the effects of the 2018–2019 influenza season, urgent care centers can expect to …
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An Urgent Care Approach to Influenza—Before Onset

Urgent message: The urgent care clinician must have a thorough understanding of different influenza types and strains, disease course, and …
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Practice Management Articles

When the ‘Inner Entrepreneur’ Needs to Step Aside

Urgent message: Being an aggressive founder who is willing to take risks is invaluable when it comes to starting and …
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Dealing with the Emotional Impact of a Merger or Acquisition

Urgent message: Urgent care has seen significant merger and acquisition activity in recent years, which is certain to cause worries, frustrations …
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Is PrEP Appropriate for Urgent Care?

Urgent message: Ever since HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) was approved by the FDA in 2012, urgent care centers have been …
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Becoming the Employer of Choice for the Emerging Urgent Care Workforce

Urgent message: A tight labor market combined with stagnant real wage growth and shifting worker expectations has placed the onus …
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Insights in Images Challenges

A 10-Year-Old Girl With Foot Pain After Falling From A Tree

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An 11-Year-Old Boy With Forearm And Wrist Pain After A Fall

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A 2-Year-Old With A Nodule On His Face—And Other Concerning Symptoms

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A 27-Year-Old Man With A Lesion On One Hand

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A 55-Year-Old Man With 3 Hours Of Epigastric Pain

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A 57-YEAR-OLD MAN WITH 3 DAYS OF LIGHTHEADEDNESS

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JUCM CAREER CENTER

Download Past Issues

February 2019 : Getting to the Heart of Post-Op Complaints Now
VIEW ISSUES ARCHIVE

CASE REPORTS

Shortness of Breath in a Postprocedural Pneumothorax

Urgent message: Patient histories can be helpful in guiding the examination and raising red flags for …
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Cat Scratch Disease Presenting as Parinaud’s Oculoglandular Syndrome

Urgent message: Cat scratch disease caused by the bacteria Bartonella henselae typically presents as isolated lymphadenopathy …
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A Pregnant Mother Presenting to Urgent Care with Chickenpox

Urgent message: Failure to correctly diagnose and provide immediate treatment for varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection …
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Post Sports Injury Burn Due to Inappropriate Use of Cryotherapy

Urgent message: PRICE (protection, rest, ice, compression and elevation) treatment is often advised to patients as …
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A 32-Year-Old Male with Unsteady Gait

Urgent message: Early diagnosis and management of multiple sclerosis are crucial for long-term prognosis. Urgent care …
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HEALTH LAW

The Finer Points of Video Surveillance in an Urgent Care Center

Urgent message: The increasing use of video surveillance in urgent care requires an awareness of the …
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Education is Key to Avoiding Increasingly Sophisticated Cyber Crime

Urgent message: As digital communication becomes more integral to our daily lives and job functions, cybercriminals …
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What Happens if You Break a Commercial Lease?

Urgent message: Whether starting a new urgent care center and entering into a lease for the …
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The Tax, Legal, and Business Implications of Providing a Company Vehicle, Vehicle Allowance, or Mileage Reimbursement

Urgent message: The nature of a multisite urgent care business entails operations and clinical leadership travelling …
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Animals Used for Medical and Support Assistance in the Urgent Care Setting

Urgent message: Urgent care providers must be prepared to address the increasing presence of dogs and …
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CLINICAL CHALLENGES

A 55-Year-Old Man with 3 Hours of Epigastric Pain

Case A 55-year-old man presents to urgent care with 3 hours of epigastric pain which began gradually and is constant …
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A 2-Year-Old with a Nodule on His Face—and Other Concerning Symptoms

A mother and father bring their 2-year-old son to your urgent care center because of a smooth nodule on his …
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A 10-Year-Old Girl with Foot Pain After Falling from a Tree

Case A 10-year-old girl presents with pain after falling from a tree, landing on her right foot. On examination, the …
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An 11-Year-Old Boy with Forearm and Wrist Pain After a Fall

The patient is an 11-year-old boy who presents complaining of pain in his left and right forearm and wrist after …
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A 27-Year-Old Man with a Lesion on One Hand

A 27-year-old man presents complaining of a single skin lesion on his hand. He reports that it first appeared as …
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OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE

New York May Call on Telemedicine to Improve Access Under Workers’ Comp

Urgent care operators that offer occupational medicine in New York may want to consider what it would take to start …
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Latest Drugs Added to Panel Turn Up More Often in Positive DOT Tests

The U.S. Department of Transportation added four semisynthetic opioids to its drug testing panel on the first of this year …
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Attention Occ Med Providers: FMCSA Loosens Up Rules on Diabetic Commercial Drivers

With publication of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) new Qualification of Drivers; Diabetes Standard, drivers who have insulin-treated …
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Boom in ‘Company Doctors’ Could Be a Boon for Urgent Care/Occ Med Providers

The popularity of workplace medical practices has waxed and waned for ages, but with major employers like Amazon and Apple …
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New Quest Diagnostics Data Show Drug Use Among Workers Remains High

It may come as no surprise to urgent care providers who offer occupational medicine services such as drug testing, but …
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Revenue Cycle Management

Navigating the Credentialing Process to Maximize Revenue and Minimize Denials

What is the best way to get my practitioners credentialed with various insurance companies and networks? It is frustrating to …
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Big Changes in Medicare Evaluation and Management Reimbursement

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published the proposed changes for the Calendar Year (CY) 2019 Physician …
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Small Errors Could Cost Big Bucks When Billing for I&D

Q: While reviewing charts where incision and drainage (I&D) procedures were being performed, I came across instances where Current Procedural …
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2019 International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) Codes

October 1, 2018 will bring 279 new codes to ICD-10-CM. Combined with 51 deactivated codes (and 143 revised codes), that …
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Clarifying the Coding for Splint and Cast Application by Nonphysicians

Q: I would like clarification on an article I read in The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine (JUCM) online archive …
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DEVELOPING DATA

Can Urgent Care and Advanced Practice Providers Fill the Void as PCP Numbers Dwindle?

The much-discussed shortage in primary care physicians isn’t going to get any better over the coming decades. In fact, it’s …
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The Connection Between Age and Choosing a Healthcare Setting

If you’ve worked in more than one setting—say, a traditional primary care office and an urgent care center—you’ve probably noticed …
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Flu Shot Coverage and Effectiveness—a Historical Perspective

Patients who heed your advice to get a flu shot and take common-sense measures to avoid spreading germs—regular, effective handwashing; …
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If You Want Your Providers to Get a Flu Shot, Make It a Requirement

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has spelled out the best way to ensure providers who work in your …
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Urgent Care Visits Go Up (and Up, and Up) While Costs Remain Low vs the ED

The key question posed by the authors of an article published last month in JAMA Internal Medicine: How have patterns …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care

Abstracts In Urgent Care – February 2019

Check the Temps: A Timely Throwback Key points: Peripheral temperatures (ie, temporal, tympanic, oral, and axillary) are inaccurate and cannot …
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Abstracts In Urgent Care – January 2019

A Brief Introduction Happy New Year! 2018 is now behind us and it was another great year for urgent care …
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Abstracts In Urgent Care – December 2018

The Year in Abstracts: Top Papers of 2018 for the Urgent Care Clinician Reviewed by Andy S. Barnett, MD  This …
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Abstracts In Urgent Care – November 2018

From ID Week: Outbreak-Related Hep A Infections Are on the Rise Key point: Hepatitis A infection may be evolving from …
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Abstracts In Urgent Care – October 2018

New Data Show ‘Steep and Sustained’ Increase in STD Occurrence—Especially Syphilis Key point: Over the past 5 years, rates of …
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Longitudinal Assessment: A Dent in the ABMS Armor?

With the volume of dissent against Maintenance of Certification (MOC) now at a fever pitch, American Board of Medical Specialties …
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Urgent Care and Antibiotics: Advancing Care and Stewardship

Antimicrobial stewardship is defined as a coordinated program that promotes the appropriate use of antimicrobials (including antibiotics), improves patient outcomes, …
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Anger Management: Hostile Encounters in Urgent Care

Eliminating disruption, distraction, and dissatisfaction is paramount to delivering efficient and high-quality care these days. More than ever, urgent cares …
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Slow Medicine: ‘Unprescribing’ America

#TimesUp; #NeverAgain; #Privacy; #OpioidCrisis; #BlackLivesMatter…. The last year has been a dramatic one for turning points in long-festering social issues …
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Chasing Flu: Predictably Unpredictable

I have managed urgent cares for nearly 20 years and can officially say that predicting flu is for fools! Perhaps …
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