The patient, a 72-year-old male, had local swelling in his right elbow. He had no history of trauma but he did suffer from dementia. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis would be. Resolution of the case if described on the next page.
Read MoreDUI: Rules of the Road
JOHN SHUFELDT, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP Oh crap! The flashing red lights illuminating the interior of Eric’s car snapped him back to reality. He had lived through a tough year – passed his family medicine boards, finished residency, separated from his wife and ultimately went through a contentious divorce. Eric’s first post-graduate job ended poorly after he was caught up in owner infighting and left as the practice he joined dissolved. Suffice it say, Eric …
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Abdominal Pain of Unusual Origin in a Teen
Urgent message: Always be mindful of the ‘zebra’ in a stampede of ‘horses’ in the differential diagnosis. ELISABETH L. SCHEUFELE, MD, MS, FAAP Case Presentation J.H. is a 19-year-old Hispanic male presenting with abdominal pain and shortness of breath for the last 4 days. He had visited the urgent care clinic about 2 days before with similar symptoms and was discharged with a diagnosis of muscle strain. J.H. returned with persistent symptoms and he indicates …
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Five Federal Employment Regulations Urgent Care Operators Need to Know (Part 2)
Urgent message: The second article in a two-part series looks at USERRA, FMLA, and NLRA—three federal labor laws that urgent care operators are likely to encounter. ALAN A. AYERS, MBA, MAcc Practice Velocity Case Record Urgent care centers are subject to a multitude of federal employment regulations and failure to comply with any of them could result in civil litigation or criminal penalties. Laws prohibiting discrimination, regulating wages and hours, permitting leave for military service …
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Management of Palpitations in Urgent Care
Urgent message: Patients with palpitations often present to urgent care clinics. Making the correct diagnosis requires knowledge of underlying pathophysiology and thorough differential diagnosis. EBRAHIM BARKOUDAH, MD, and JEFFREY P. COLLINS, MD Case Record A 75-year-old woman with no prior history of cardiac disease complained of “palpitations” but neither lightheadedness nor syncope. She denied excess caffeine intake or use of illicit drugs and had no other significant past medical history on triage. The patient’s initial …
Read MoreIt Depends on What the Meaning of the Word ‘Is’ Is
Lee A. Resnick, MD, FAAFP Much has been written of late about use of emergency services by patients covered by Medicaid. For some time, consensus has been that Medicaid patients overuse emergency services for non-emergencies. The emergency department (ED), it was thought, served as the de facto primary care physician for this because of problems with access and lack of pricing pressures to deter use. Until recently, supportive data were lacking and the notion of …
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2012 Urgent Care Buyer’s Guide
63-year-old female complaining of pain in throat
The patient, a 63-year-old female, complained of pain in her throat after eating fish. View the image taken and consider what your diagnosis would be.
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9-year-old female suffering after a blow to her right hand
The patient, a 9-year-old female, presented after a blow to her right hand. View the image taken and consider what your diagnosis would be.
Read MoreDeveloping Data: July/August, 2012
These data from the 2010 Urgent Care Benchmarking Survey are based on responses of 1,691 US urgent care centers; 32% were UCAOA members. The survey was limited to “full-fledged urgent care centers” accepting walk-ins during all hours of operation; having a licensed provider and x-ray and lab equipment onsite; the ability to administer IV fluids and perform minor procedures; and having minimal business hours of seven days per week, four hours per day. In this …
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