Harris Fleming, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Be Alert for Patients Following ‘Dr. TikTok’s’ Latest Advice

Just a few months ago we warned you about a TikTok trend in which individuals—often teenagers—took as many as a dozen diphenhydramine pills in the belief that they would start hallucinating as a friend shot video to be posted online. At least one boy died. The latest trend has not killed anyone to date, but it could be more likely to be followed because it purports to help treat troublesome symptoms with a substance attainable …

Emergency Rooms Are in a Dangerous Bind—and They’re Pleading for Help from Urgent Care

JUCM News has been bringing you updates on the consequences of reduced hospital services for communities all over the country for some time now. Something that’s gone under the radar, however, is how difficult cost-cutting measures like reducing services can be on the providers who work in hospitals. Patients don’t stop coming just because a department closes, and too often they flock to the emergency room. At South Shore Health in South Weymouth, MA they …

New Data on Access to Healthcare in Rural America Could Mean Opportunity for Urgent Care

Health system consolidation, reductions in hospital services, and hospital closures have been making it harder for residents of rural communities of the United States to get reasonable access to high-quality healthcare for years now. It’s fallout from abortion legislation that could be the tipping point that sends some of those communities into crisis mode, however. JUCM News has reported predictions of this dire scenario from various sources previously, but now there are actual data confirming …

Is There ‘a Doctor’ in the House? The Answer Depends on Where You’re Located

The fight by nurse practitioners to be addressed as “Dr.” (and by some physicians to keep them from doing so) has reached the litigious stage in California. As reported by The Washington Post, three NPs there are suing to prevent enforcement of a state law under which physicians and surgeons have the exclusive right to refer to themselves as “doctor” or to use “Dr.” before their name. And the state does, in fact, take an …

There’s a New Drug for Patients with Alzheimer’s—and You Need to Be Alert for Its Adverse Effects

Patients, families, and providers who treat individuals who have Alzheimer’s disease were likely encouraged to learn that lecanemab-irmb (Leqembi) received full approve from the Food and Drug Administration because of its potential to slow progress of the disease. Any excitement was soon tempered by warnings that the drug’s side effects could be severe, however—so much so that some patients (such as those on blood thinners) may not be candidates to take it at all. Some …

Don’t Let Anchoring Bias Sink Sound Decision-Making

Evidence is mounting that anchoring bias—getting “stuck” on patient-reported reasons for a visit to the extent that it affects decision-making or narrows the provider’s consideration of actual etiologies—is not only real but also a serious concern in clinical care. A study just published by JAMA Internal Medicine reveals that when patients presenting to an emergency room with shortness of breath included congestive heart failure on their self-reported history, physicians were less likely to assess for …

More Restrictive Abortion Laws May Cast Urgent Care in a New Role

The ultimate effects of new abortion laws being enacted or considered across the country have yet to be realized. That doesn’t mean the wheels of state legislatures aren’t spinning solutions to emerging challenges that could result, however—and urgent care is figuring significantly in at least some. In Pennsylvania, for example, the state senate unanimously passed a bill that would decriminalize the act of a parent surrendering an unharmed newborn at an urgent care center if …

Anemia in Seniors Could Have a Deceptively Simple Cause (If You Know to Look for It)

Consideration of possible causes of anemia in senior citizens would likely include significant illness such as chronic kidney disease, cancer, and ulcerative colitis along with much more benign concerns like vitamin B12 deficiency. Findings just reported online by the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest the explanation could be even simpler sometimes. Secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial (Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly, or ASPREE) including 19,114 subjects 65 years of …

Urgent Care Becomes More Appealing as Patients Stray from Traditional Provider Relationships

The ability to access healthcare at any single point of access is becoming less appealing to healthcare consumers, according to new research from Wolters Klewer. Rather, a trend toward “decentralized care based on demographic differences, cost-driven decision-making, and shifting trust in care providers and settings” is pushing them to less traditional sites like retail pharmacies and urgent care centers. The authors called urgent care a “preferred setting” based on the findings that 57% of women …

Pandemic Burnout May Be Waning—Making It All the More Important to Check in With Those Still Struggling

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic plunged many urgent care providers into the depths of burnout, there are signs that optimism may be resurging among healthcare professionals. According to a report published by Morning Consult, 58% of healthcare workers surveyed reported being optimistic about healthcare’s future while 61% reported that they’ve “mostly” been successful in coping with work stressors over the preceding 6 months. While that’s good news, the survey clearly indicates there’s …