Practice Management
From 2025 to 2050, the world could see more than 39 million deaths that are directly attributable to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Researchers from several global institutions studied 520 million individual records and estimated deaths and illnesses attributable to AMR across 204 countries from 1990 through 2021. As it turns out, deaths from AMR fell more than 50% among children younger than age 5 but increased more than 80% among adults 70 and older, according to …
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A newly discovered COVID strain known as XEC has emerged worldwide, according to an outbreak tracking tool by Scripps Research. The omicron variant KP.3.1.1 made up 52.7% of COVID-19 cases between September 1 and September 14, 2024, yet the XEC COVID-19 variant and another known as MV.1 seem likely to become the next dominant strains, according to a news item in USA Today. First appearing late June in Berlin, Germany, the XEC strain has been …
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Northwest Urgent Care, LLC, has entered into an agreement to purchase 10 Arizona urgent care centers from Carbon Health. According to the announcement, the acquisition will expand capacity and bring Northwest’s total number of locations to more than 80 when the deal closes in the fourth quarter of 2024. In the past 5 years, Northwest Healthcare has invested around $200 million in the Tucson metro area, which includes the addition of 2 hospitals. Northwest Urgent …
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A national survey from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found a surprising feeling of hesitancy among individuals when considering vaccines this fall—just as the new flu season approaches. Among 1,006 people surveyed, researchers found 37% have received vaccines in the past but do not plan to get them this year. The same percentage of respondents said they don’t need any of the vaccines surveyed in the poll, including flu, COVID-19, pneumococcal, and respiratory …
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Alaska’s state health department confirmed that an infant has died from pertussis amid the ongoing epidemic in Alaska, which has been observed mostly in south central regions of the state. Infants are at the highest risk for severe disease, and 12% of cases have been reported in infants. Of those infants, 45% have been hospitalized. In all, 70% of cases are among children under the age of 15 years old. As of September 6, 2024, …
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The Urgent Care College of Physicians (UCCOP) recently submitted its application to the Specialty and Service Society (SSS) of the American Medical Association (AMA). The application is the first step toward specialty recognition. According to UCCOP, the strategic initiative is part of an effort to amplify the voice of urgent care clinicians within the AMA. The SSS decision should be forthcoming in November. Entrance into the SSS requires that a percentage of UCCOP physicians be …
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CityMD is set to open a new urgent care clinic in Norwalk, Connecticut, later this month. For the past 15 years, CityMD has operated clinics in New York and New Jersey, and the new location is the company’s first expansion beyond those 2 states, according to a press release. A second Connecticut location will open in Fairfield in 2025. New neighbors: CityMD partners with Summit Health, a multispecialty group that offers internal medicine, nephrology, and …
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Researchers surveyed adult patients in the waiting rooms of 6 public, safety-net primary care clinics and 2 private emergency departments in Texas and found that more than half of the respondents said they would use leftover antibiotics if they were feeling sick. Among the 546 volunteering patients surveyed, the most common situations that would inspire patients to use non-prescription antibiotics were having access to leftover antibiotics (50.4%), experiencing symptom improvement with prior use of antibiotics …
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Liraglutide, the long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drug, was approved for weight loss in among pediatric patients aged 12 and older who are obese. Recently, manufacturer Novo Nordisk found in a sponsored study that children between the ages of 6 and 12—a younger population—were able to reduce their body mass index by 7.4% in a 56-week trial using daily liraglutide injections, as published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The trial of 92 children met …
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For patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a trip to a healthcare provider can cause distress. Many with ASD are particularly sensitive to light, sound, textures, and touches. Some have advocates, loved ones, or parents who assist with communication. Yet, few urgent care providers have the insight or the resources to improve the experience of clinic visits for those with ASD. Three Northwell Health-GoHealth pediatric centers in New York recently partnered with the national organization …
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