Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

U.S. Streets Are Exploding in Protest and Violence; Could This Usher in a Second Wave of COVID-19?

While local governments and law enforcement bodies struggle to maintain order during unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd during an encounter with police in Minneapolis, public health officials are expressing a secondary concern: that the volume of citizens and police officers interacting in such close proximity could beget a second wave of COVID-19 infections. While photos and television coverage show most protestors and police officers wearing masks, the fact remains that doing so …

Be Aware: Ill-Informed Patients Are Having COVID-19 ‘Parties’ to Build Herd Immunity

In a grim reminder of “chickenpox parties,” mainstream media from coast to coast are reporting on COVID-19 parties in which dozens of individuals gather to have a good time—and to spread the virus among themselves in a misguided effort to encourage immunity. Not surprisingly, public health officials in those areas are reporting anecdotally that patients who get diagnosed with COVID-19 mention they’ve attended such an event recently. One physician in Walla Walla County, WA told …

Violence Against Healthcare Providers Is Getting Attention—Finally

Most people who have worked in urgent care for any length of time could share stories of patients who become unruly, belligerent, or downright violent. Sometimes it’s out of frustration over a situation, a reaction to pain, or under the influence of substances. A report on NBC New York recently focused the public’s attention on this problem as it pertains to emergency rooms. It quoted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealing that 47% …

National Media Volleys Provide Ammo for Convincing Anti-Vaxers to Get a Flu Shot

It would be easy to make the argument that social media—and Big Media, at times—have done a great job of overriding scientific proof that the best way to avoid getting the flu is by getting vaccinated. It seems that every reluctant patient has it on the authority of YouTube or Twitter that vaccines do more harm than good, no matter how much data you throw at them. Some may have even seen the Tweet television …

Alleged Faulty EHR Security Leads to Billion Dollar Lawsuit

eClinicalWorks has been hit with a $1 billion class-action lawsuit over allegations that it failed to protect the security of millions of patient’s records—and that one patient with cancer actually died as a result of faulty patient EHRs. The latter charge says the deceased was “unable to determine reliably when his first symptoms of cancer appeared as his medical records failed to accurately display his medical history on progress notes.” More broadly, the suit contends …

Another Arrest for Practicing without a License

The ink is barely dry on the arrest warrant for a Florida man accused of practicing medicine without a license, but now another similar story has popped up in New Jersey. Unlike the Florida case, the accused was not the proprietor of the urgent care center where he worked but an employee. Law enforcement officials say he’s actually a former physician whose medical license was suspended in 2003 for aggravated drug possession. Authorities are confident …

Urgent Care Physician Imposter Busted in Florida

A physician assistant’s suspicions and subsequent law enforcement investigations have led to the president of an urgent care center in south Florida being formally charged with posing as a physician and possession of a blank prescription form. In fact, the Med-Clinic in Doral, FL was not licensed by the state to serve as any kind of medical facility. Regardless, it employed “real” clinicians and promoted its capabilities to treat broken bones and infections…all the services …

Ex-Employee Suspected of Stealing Opioids from California Urgent Care Center

An urgent care center in Atascadero, CA has been robbed of hundreds of Norco (acetaminophen and hydrocodone) capsules, with a market value of more than $10,000—and the prime suspect is a former employee, according to police there. The drugs disappeared over a 2-year period, with the perpetrator altering patient records so it appeared the center needed greater quantities than were ultimately stocked. No arrests have been made, to date, but local police are working with …

Arrest Serves as a Reminder: Consider Running Candidates Through the Sex Offender Registry

A New Mexico physician assistant was arrested recently on charges he sexually abused a child repeatedly—years after being granted probation after being charged with enticement of a minor in Utah. He was denied a license in Utah for that reason in 2009, but was granted a PA license in New Mexico less than a year later. PAs are certified nationally, but licensed at the state level. JUCM published an original article on this very topic …

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