StuWilli, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Make 2020 the Year Urgent Care Becomes Known for Excellent Antibiotic Stewardship

Urgent care has received more than its fair share of criticism in light of healthcare-wide overprescribing of antibiotics. While much of that discussion reflects misperceptions about our industry, clearly all healthcare settings need to be held accountable for improving their decisions to ensure antibiotics are prescribed only when necessary. With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continuing to re-evaluate their data on just how many antibiotic-resistant infections occur (with too many proving to be …

How Measles Forced One School District to Issue an Ultimatum: Get Vaccinated or Stay Home

Influenza isn’t the only vaccine-preventable disease wreaking havoc on communities across the country. Thirty-one states, from Maine to Hawaii, have seen confirmed cases of measles this year. In Seattle, the threat is seen as so great that the public school system has drawn a line in the sand: If your child hasn’t been vaccinated against measles, they’re not allowed to return to school after the winter holiday break. Days missed as a result will be …

Telemedicine May Offer New Opportunities to Reach Kids in the Community—and Even in School

It’s hard on everyone—teachers, parents, and certainly children—when a student feels ill in the middle of the school day. And if the school nurse thinks the patient needs more care than she provide, Mom or Dad has to leave work and get their offspring in to see the pediatrician ASAP. Children in the Salamanca City Central School District in New York don’t even need to leave the campus to be seen by a physician or …

What to Do If A Competing Urgent Care Opens in Your Community

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. Urgent message: As the country’s urgent care markets become increasingly saturated, the forward-thinking operator will have a strategic patient-retention strategy ready when a competitor inevitably opens up shop in their community. As the urgent care market continues its yearly growth of around 8%, per the Urgent Care Association’s 2018 Benchmarking …

Abstracts in Urgent Care – January 2020

The FDA on Cannabidiol Improving Diagnosis of Cluster Headache Making Tympanostomy Tube Placement Office-Friendly Nothing to Fear from NDMA? Counseling Patients on Preventing Cardiovascular Disease FDA Delves Deeper into Use of CBD Products Key point: The FDA is working to answer questions about the science, safety, and quality of products containing cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds, particularly CBD. Citation: U.S. Food & Drug Administration. What you need to know (and what we’re working to find out) …

A New Year, and a New Era for JUCM

35,000. As I assume the role of editor-in-chief of the journal, this is the number that revolves through my head with rhythmic pops like an old, vinyl record. Cognitive psychologists estimate that that’s the number of decisions an average adult makes every day. This number may seem impossibly large at first, to the point of absurdity even. After all, that breaks down to a decision every 2 seconds. But let’s pause briefly and examine this. …

Most Urgent Care Centers Give Immunization a Shot—of One Type or Another

If you haven’t noticed, it’s flu season. In fact, it’s been flu season longer than usual for this point compared with past years, thanks to an unexpectedly early arrival. With months to go, though, there’s still time for patients who have not been immunized to reap the benefits of getting a flu shot. This is not to say that influenza is the only immunization patients need. With reports of measles also beginning to climb as …

Reducing Morbidity and Mortality Due to MRSA in the Urgent Care Setting

Urgent message: Staphylococcus aureus is a common pathogen in the community—one that can lead to a range of infections, including abscess and sepsis. Invasive methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA) infections have decreased in the healthcare setting; however, at the same time, community-acquired infections have increased. Delayed treatment increases morbidity and mortality. Jordan Miller, DO and Ari Leib, MD AN ILLUSTRATIVE CASE A 40-year-old female presented to an urgent care center with the chief complaint of a …

Legal Considerations for Expedited Partner Therapy in Urgent Care

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Urgent Care and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. Urgent message: Expedited Partner Therapy enables a provider, when treating a patient for a sexually transmitted infection, to give a second prescription for the patient’s partner without having to examine the partner. Introduction Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT) is the clinical practice of treating the sex partners of patients diagnosed with …

An 18-Year-Old Male with Shortness of Breath and ‘Tightness’ in His Chest

The patient is an 18-year-old male who presents to urgent care complaining of 1-day history of intermittent shortness of breath, as well as a sore throat. He reports that he woke up with “chest tightness” and “discomfort.” He is unable to take a deep breath. View the image taken and consider what the diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

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