Ashley Blachford, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

An Atypical Cause of Fever and Confusion: A Case Report of Delayed Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis

Francesca Cocchiarale, DO; Alexa Bailey, MS-3; Michael Weinstock, MD Urgent Message: Pulmonary embolism can be frequently missed as a diagnosis because it can present with a variety of signs and symptoms. Understanding clinical decision rules and myriad presentations can help urgent care providers determine when patients benefit from immediate referral to an emergency department. Citation: Cocchiarale F, Bailey A, Weinstock M. An Atypical Cause of Fever and Confusion: A Case Report of Delayed Pulmonary Embolism …

55-Year-Old Male With Dyspnea

A 55-year-old male with a history of heart failure presents to the urgent care with dyspnea. An ECG is obtained. View the ECG captured above and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

Free Advice

Members of the Urgent Care Association (UCA) get a lot of “free” stuff—resources, checklists, podcasts, job searches, magazines, webinars, templates, plans, and so on. But this year at the Urgent Care Convention we are going one better (two, actually). I’m talking about our new “Ask a Consultant” sessions and our Quality Programs Center, both of which essentially provide the space for free consulting (yes, free). The Ask a Consultant sessions feature top, vetted consultants who …

Supervising Doctors May be Held Liable in Malpractice Suits

Urgent Message: A supervising physician can be named in a lawsuit for malpractice against a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, however, there are steps supervising physicians can take to protect themselves against such actions. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc In urgent care settings, physicians are often responsible for supervising and overseeing a team of other healthcare employees, including nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), and medical assistants (MAs). If any member of this team is …

What is a False Claim?

Benjamin Barlow, MD; Phyllis Dobberstein, CPC, CPMA, CPCO, CEMC, CCC The False Claims Act (FCA) is a federal statute enacted in 1863, inspired by defense-contractor fraud during the Civil War. Today it is used to prosecute inappropriate billing in the healthcare setting. Any person who knowingly submits false claims to the government (ie, Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare) is liable for 3 times the government’s damages plus a penalty that is linked to inflation. Penalties are per …

53-Year-Old Female With Fatigue

A 53-year-old female with no significant past medical history presents to the urgent care with progressive fatigue for several weeks. An ECG is obtained. View the ECG captured above and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

Nine Recurring Coding Pitfalls for Urgent Care Clinicians to Avoid

Brad Laymon, PA, CPC, CEMC Over my career as a physician assistant, I have delved extensively into the intricacies of medical coding guidelines. Through collaborative initiatives with healthcare systems and fellow clinicians, I have been able to identify 9 common, recurring coding pitfalls. This process came with significant time and experience, and I want to share what I’ve learned as my ultimate objective has always been advancing charting accuracy to instill confidence among providers in …

Updates in Weight Management Pharmacotherapy: Essential Knowledge For The Urgent Care Clinician

Urgent Message: As more glucagon-like peptide-1 and gastric inhibitory polypeptide agonists are prescribed, it is important for clinicians to have familiarity adverse reactions and complications that may present in urgent care. Sergio Ramoa, MD, MS; Darya Zakirov, MS, APRN, FNP-C; Pascale Carbonara, MD; Deann Isherwood, MSN, FNP; Tu-Mai Tran, MD, MSc Citation: Ramoa S, Zakirov D, Carbonara P, Isherwood D, Tran TM. Updates in Weight Management Pharmacotherapy: Essential Knowledge For The Urgent Care Clinician. J …

How Urgent Care is Becoming More Corporatized

In 2023, the urgent care industry added 1,057 de novo locations—new sites that did not previously exist. But these new centers are far more likely to be owned by larger entities with 10 or more units, also called “enterprise” operators. In fact, according to data from National Urgent Care Realty analyzed by Experity, for the past 4 years, 10+ unit operators have been the drivers of new rooftop growth. Prior to 2020, the industry was led …

Why Specialty Recognition Matters More Than Ever for Urgent Care

Commuting in Jakarta can be a nightmare. The average citizen in Indonesia’s capital city spends weeks stuck in urban transit each year. Compare this with Singapore, which is consistently rated one of the best cities in the world for commuters. The difference between the day-to-day experience of residents of each city is stark. The root cause of why these two metropolises of southeast Asia have such disparate commuter experiences lies in the contrast of how …

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