JOHN SHUFELDT, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP with ANDREW SNIEGOWSKI, RN, JD CANDIDATE 2014 Over the last 6 years I have written a number of articles on medical malpractice in urgent care medicine. The good news is that I am seeing fewer cases despite the fact that there are more urgent care centers and more patient visits. The bad news is that I am still seeing the same fact patterns time and again. Failure to diagnose …
Read MoreMOC…Part Duhhh!
Lee A. Resnick, MD, FAAFP I first wrote about the disaster that is Maintenance of Certification (MOC) in June 2012. As a refresher, MOC was adopted by all 24 American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) member boards in 2006. The move was promoted under the guise of a commitment to quality care and best practices. Despite no clear evidence that MOC works to achieve these goals, the requirements were adopted without debate. That’s right, the …
Read More
Side Effects of New Weight Loss Medications
Urgent message: With the epidemic of obesity and recent FDA-approval of weight loss drugs, urgent care providers should be on alert for patient presentations related to side effects of these agents. Introduction An estimated 154.7 million Americans over the age of 20 are currently overweight or obese. These Americans are at increased risk of disease, including diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, end-stage renal disease and cancer. If current trends remain unchanged, an estimated $861 to $957 …
Read More
March 2014
Expert Perspectives on Grassroots Marketing in Urgent Care
Urgent message: Grassroots marketing tactics can be effective in engaging a center’s providers and staff with the communities they serve while also educating prospective patients about the availability of urgent care. Introduction This roundtable focuses on grassroots marketing for urgent care centers, which differs from traditional advertising in that it involves more interaction with prospective patients and requires a hands-on approach to building relationships and spurring word-of-mouth in the community. The panel of experts we’ve …
Read More
Assessment and Management of Asthma Exacerbation in Urgent Care: Part 1
Urgent message: Asthma is increasing in prevalence and so, too, presentations of asthma in ambulatory settings. Urgent care providers have an important role to play in identifying and treating acute asthma exacerbations, including providing a written asthma action plan at discharge to improve long-term outcome. BRADLEY M. TURNER MD, MPH, MHA, FCAP, FASCP and JANET M. WILLIAMS, MD, FACEP Patients often seek assistance in urgent care centers for acute presentations of asthma. This provides unique …
Read More
21-year-old man with a blow to his right shoulder
This x-ray was taken on a 21-year-old man with a blow to his right shoulder. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be.
Read More59-year-old diabetic with pain and swelling in foot
The patient, a 59-year-old man with diabetes, presented with pain and swelling over his lateral right foot. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be.
Read MoreClinical Challenge 2: January, 2014
THE CASE This x-ray was taken on a 29-year-old man with a blow to his left elbow. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be.
Read MoreDeveloping Data: February, 2014
These data from the 2012 Urgent Care Industry Benchmarking Study are based on a sample of 1,732 urgent care centers; 95.2% of the respondents were UCA members. Among other criteria, the study was limited to centers that have a licensed provider onsite at all times; have two or more exam rooms; typically are open 7 days/week, 4 hours/day, at least 3,000 hours/year; and treat patients of all ages (unless specifically a pediatric urgent care).
Read More