A Legal Quandary: Poor Care…or Malpractice?

By Ashley Blachford  /  December 30, 2021
Urgent message: Failure to consider subtleties and the context in which a patient presents can lead to insufficient differential diagnoses…
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A Legal Quandary: Poor Care…or Malpractice?

Thinking About Buying or Selling an Urgent Care Center?

By Ashley Blachford  /  November 30, 2021
Urgent message: While market conditions for mergers and acquisitions are currently “hot,” variability in urgent care volume attributable to COVID-19…
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Thinking About Buying or Selling an Urgent Care Center?

See You in Court: Practice and Documentation Change from a Mock Trial

By Ashley Blachford  /  December 20, 2021
Urgent message: “Mock trials” are a valuable tool to help urgent care providers offer better medical care, record more appropriate…
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See You in Court: Practice and Documentation Change from a Mock Trial

How Useful Is Ultrasound in Diagnosing Extrauterine Gravidities?

By Ashley Blachford  /  December 30, 2021
Urgent message: Ultrasound can provide essential data in the urgent care evaluation of gynecological and obstetrical problems, such as suspected…
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How Useful Is Ultrasound in Diagnosing Extrauterine Gravidities?

A 49-Year-Old Male with Abdominal Pain

By Ashley Blachford  /  November 16, 2021
The patient is a 49-year-old male who presents with a primary complaint of what he describes as “gas pain” for…
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A 49-Year-Old Male with Abdominal Pain

Urgent Care News

CDC: One Vaccine May Be Especially Effective in Lowering Risk for MIS-C

While still relatively rare, there have been 6,400 cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children …
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As Omicron Continues to Fuel Increased Infection in Many States, Staff Burnout Looms

We don’t have to tell you that these are hard times to be working in …
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Yes, Omicron Tends to Be Less Severe—but Patients Need to Understand the Exceptions

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been shown to produce less severe illness than previous …
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Vaccination Reduces Risk for COVID-Related Hospitalization and Death—but Who Are the Exceptions?

It’s been well established that vaccination is the best option for reducing risk for infection …
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Update: Remdesivir May Be More Effective, More Quickly Than Previously Thought in COVID-19

A few months ago, we shared the findings of a study published in the Journal …
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Web Exclusive Articles

See You in Court: Practice and Documentation Change from a Mock Trial

Urgent message: “Mock trials” are a valuable tool to help urgent care providers offer better …
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A 60-Year-Old Woman with Dark, Painful Plaques on Her Legs

The patient is a 60-year-old woman who presents to urgent care after developing dark areas …
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Case Report: Reoccurring Metatarsophalangeal Joint Pain

Urgent message: Acute or chronic hallux pain is a common complaint in urgent care. Due …
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Case of a Nonhealing ‘Sunburn’ on a Toddler

Urgent message: Rashes are a common ailment, and their etiology can have overlapping appearances. In …
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A Novel Method for Blinding Reviewers to Gender of Proceduralists for the Purposes of Gender Bias Research

Urgent message Gender bias, whether overt or subconscious, may be to blame for disparities in …
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Clinical Articles

Neck Pain, A Legal Quandary: Poor Care...or Malpractice?

A Legal Quandary: Poor Care…or Malpractice?

Urgent message: Failure to consider subtleties and the context in which a patient presents can lead to insufficient differential diagnoses …
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Urgent Care Management of Lacerations in the Elderly Patient

Urgent message: Fragile skin lacerations in geriatric patients require a different repair strategy from those in younger patients. Despite the …
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Urgent Care Diagnosis and Management of Deep Vein Thrombosis

John DesMarais, MD and Samidha Dutta, DO Urgent message: Screening patients with suspected DVT using the Well’s criteria is an …
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N gonorrhoeae: Dual Therapy Is Out. Monotherapy Is In.

…
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Practice Management Articles

Thinking About Buying or Selling an Urgent Care Center?

Urgent message: While market conditions for mergers and acquisitions are currently “hot,” variability in urgent care volume attributable to COVID-19 …
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Addressing Fraternization in Urgent Care image

Addressing Fraternization in the Urgent Care Workplace

Urgent message: Whereas sexual harassment is defined as unwanted and one-sided, many times employees choose to become romantically involved, requiring …
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PM Hybrid Workforce, work from home

What Does a Hybrid Workforce Look Like for Urgent Care?

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine and is President of …
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Direct-To-Consumer Testing in Urgent Care

Understanding the Benefits and Risks of Direct-to-Consumer Testing for Urgent Care

Urgent message: Urgent care centers equipped to draw blood and collect other specimens are well positioned to create new revenue …
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Insights in Images Challenges

A 15-Year-Old Boy with a Painful Elbow After a Baseball Game

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A 47-Year-Old with Pain After Twisting His Ankle

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A 27-Year-Old Male with Chest Pain and No Reported Medical History

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A 36-Year-Old Male with Sudden-Onset Substernal Chest Pain

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A 68-Year-Old Woman with a Rash of Several Weeks’ Duration

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A 43-Year-Old Man with a Painful, Purulent Finger

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JUCM CAREER CENTER

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JUCM January 2022 Cover Snip

January 2022 : From a Neck Pain Case to a Malpractice Case, Where Did It All Go Wrong

VIEW ISSUES ARCHIVE

CASE REPORTS

How Useful Is Ultrasound in Diagnosing Extrauterine Gravidities?

Urgent message: Ultrasound can provide essential data in the urgent care evaluation of gynecological and obstetrical …
Read More

Reoccurring Metatarsophalangeal Joint Pain

Urgent message: Acute or chronic hallux pain is a common complaint in urgent care. Due to …
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Atypical Skin Abscess Caused by Nontuberculous Mycobacterium

Urgent message: Cutaneous abscesses are common presentations in urgent care. While either methicillin-sensitive or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus …
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Weight Loss, Abdominal Pain, and Distension in a 74-Year-Old Woman

Urgent message: Not all GI complaints can be attributed to gastrointestinal pathology; symptoms of dyspepsia, vomiting, …
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An Unresponsive Pupil in the Urgent Care: Can A Diagnosis Be Made from the Bedside History and Exam?

Urgent message: Ocular complaints for which there is no immediate, obvious explanation do not necessarily have …
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HEALTH LAW

Considerations for Urgent Care Operators on Equal Pay Legislation and Enforcement

Urgent message: As we see a shift to an overwhelming female workforce in urgent care, it …
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Who in a Company Can Bind the Company in a Contract?

Urgent message: While legal documents may define who in an urgent care is able to legally …
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Getting Served: The Do’s and Don’ts of Litigation

Upon returning home from a busy urgent care shift, you notice a certified letter with a …
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Employee Confidentiality Cannot Extend to Employment Terms—Including on Social Media

Urgent message: Nondisclosure agreements that are commonly required of management and providers to protect a company’s …
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The Nuances of Age Discrimination

Urgent message: As the United States learns to support an aging workforce, understanding the nuances of …
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CLINICAL CHALLENGES

A 27-Year-Old Male with Chest Pain and No Reported Medical History

Chamber Abnormalities: Pathologic or Not? A 27-year-old male with no reported medical history presents with chest pain. He relays several …
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A 68-Year-Old Woman with a Rash of Several Weeks’ Duration

The patient is a 68-year-old woman who presents with a rash she says developed on her trunk over a span …
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A 15-Year-Old Boy with a Painful Elbow After a Baseball Game

The patient is a 15-year-old boy who presents to urgent care with a painful medial right elbow he and his …
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A 36-Year-Old Male with Sudden-Onset Substernal Chest Pain

The patient is a 36-year-old male with a history of tobacco and alcohol use who presents to urgent care with …
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A 43-Year-Old Man with a Painful, Purulent Finger

The patient is a 43-year-old male who presents with a painful collection of pus near his fingernail. He reported that …
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OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE

That Vaccine Mandate for Private Businesses That Was Called Off? It’s on Again—and the Clock Is Ticking

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s plan to require employers with 100 or more workers to institute a COVID-19 vaccine …
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Your Occ Med Clients Need Your Support with the New COVID-19 ETS—Immediately

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration just issued an Emergency Temporary Standard intended to protect workers from getting infected with …
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More People Are Trudging Off to Work on Site. Do You Know Who’s at Greatest Risk for COVID-19?

While some employers are content to maintain remote or hybrid work situations for their workers, either because of strong stances …
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As Travel Opens Up, Opportunities to Offer COVID-19 Tests Could Be Lucrative

Urgent care has had it tough during the pandemic, but the travel industry has faced unprecedented challenges as Americans hunkered …
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Occ Med Providers Take Note: Companies Are Pushing Workers to Get Tested Frequently

Amazon and Whole Foods employees were told this week that weekly, no-cost testing for COVID-19 is available to them—and encouraged—on …
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Revenue Cycle Management

Are Insurance Plans Still Waiving Cost-Sharing?

A common question that I receive is whether COVID-19 testing is still being covered by insurance plans. The Families First …
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Billing for Midlevels: Your Questions Answered

One of the biggest challenges for urgent care practices is staffing. Midlevels are a great solution. As states pass laws …
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ICD-10 Changes for 2022

Every year on October 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the National Center for Health Statistics …
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What the #$%^ is happening with EM Coding and Reimbursement?! – Part II

In the May issue of JUCM, we outlined what we were seeing with E/M coding levels utilizing the new AMA …
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Credentialing: Why Should I Hire a Professional?

In the words of Red Adair, “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait …
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DEVELOPING DATA

Yes, Disparities in Prescribing Exist in Urgent Care—but Which Disparities?

If you read Evaluation of Healthcare Disparities in Urgent Care: A Case Example for Bacterial Pneumonia—see page 23 of this …
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More People Really Are Trying Telehealth These Days—but That Doesn’t Mean They Prefer It

There’s been a lot of discussion (including in JUCM and JUCM News) as to whether the COVID-19 pandemic would usher …
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Will Urgent Care Visits return to ‘Normal’ as the Pandemic Turns Endemic?

In spite of the fact that urgent care was overlooked as an essential partner in the fight against COVID-19 in …
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Telehealth Use Is Down from Its Peak—But the New Plateau Is Far Higher Than Pre-Pandemic Levels

Patients were more willing to use telehealth than ever in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data …
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Meet the New Urgent Care Boss—Not the Same as the Old Boss

Back in the day, you probably would have been right to assume that the closest urgent care center was founded, …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care

Abstracts in Urgent Care – January 2022

Pediatric Burns and Cool, Clear WaterLimit Screen Time After Concussion?Gastroenteritis in ChildrenDiagnosing Giant Cell ArteritisPOCUS and Ectopic PregnancyDetecting C diffVaccinating …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care – December 2021

The Importance (or Not) of High BP ReadingsLearning While Driving—Does It Work?Considering Sucralfate in Pediatric Oral UlcersOsteopathic Manipulation for Low …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care November 2021

POCUS in Ocular PresentationsExperiencing—and Handling—Patient BiasesSelf-Swabbing for STIsCAM Boots for Toddler’s Fracture?Treating Children with BronchiolitisAzithromycin in COVID-19 Point-of-Care Ultrasound for …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care – October 2021

Duration of UTI Treatment in MenAcute Respiratory Illness in ChildrenIsopropyl Alcohol for Acute Nausea in AdultsNeurological Events and Metronidazole PrescribingDo …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care – September 2021

Cooling Pain from Digital Nerve BlocksSafety of Corticosteroids in ChildrenPredicting the Course of Pediatric CAPIs Tranexamic Acid Helpful for Epistaxis?Drug …
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

An Underrecognized Epidemic: Toxic Positivity in Medicine

Joshua Russell, MD, MSc, FCUCM, FACEP A colleague, Dr. Mitchell we’ll call him, told me about a PA that he …
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Stepping Outside Yourself

Joshua Russell, MD, MSc, FACEP Until recently, I’ve had the rare luxury of working in busy urgent care centers where …
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The Last Hour Problem

It’s 8 pm and I’m 9 hours into a 10-hour shift when four new patients walk in. Even though I’m …
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The Unvaccinated Aren’t the Enemy

Taylor wore her embroidered sorority sweatshirt and a mask below her nose when she came to see me. She was …
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ICYMI: A Rational System for Charting Has Finally Arrived

Remember the fall of last year—when the nation and world pined for an expedient end to 2020, as if such …
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