Practice Management
Respiratory sequelae may not be the only (or even the most dangerous) consequence of COVID-19 infection in patients with hypertension, atrial fibrillation, or any condition that puts them at elevated risk for ischemic stroke. According to data presented at the International Stroke Conference in New Orleans, as reported by Medscape, that risk is “significantly elevated” in the 3 days immediately following infection. The data were drawn from assessment of the cases of more than 19,000 …
Read More
A patient Googles “urgent care near me” and sees your location among the top three results. Even better, they see that your center is on their way home and open until 8. And yet, when they get to your place at 7:25 they find the posted hours say you closed at 7. Here’s the problem in this hypothetical—but very real life—scenario: Even if your website is up to date web crawlers can still “find” and …
Read More
Offering COVID-19 testing services could engender good will and bring new patients to your practice—or it could lead to disappointment, lost opportunity, or even legal scrutiny. In New York, the attorney general has warned various entities who advertise a specific turnaround time on COVID-19 tests that they’d better make good on their promises or face stiff consequences. In the Midwest, federal health officials as well as investigators from several states are investigating the practices of …
Read More
Patients who receive a COVID-19 booster shot after having completed the first one- or two-dose regimen of the vaccine have roughly 4 months before protection from that shot starts to wane, according to the latest information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest COVID-19 information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An Early Release article published by Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report notes specifically that “Vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19–associated …
Read More
Both anecdotal and research-based evidence has indicated that the Omicron variant of COVID-19, while more transmissible, is less likely to lead to hospitalization and death. As time goes on and real-world data accumulate, though, it appears the picture is more complicated. An article published in The Washington Post notes that the number of daily deaths has risen to a level higher than it was last spring when the Delta variant dominated. The hardest-hit populations have …
Read More
Access to antiviral therapy is expected to broaden for patients with COVID-19 in the near future. Urgent care centers are well positioned to offer key advantages for patients compared with other settings—most significantly, considering that the timing of oral therapeutic initiation is essential to reducing viral load, 7-day walk-in access. To help ensure urgent care providers are well armed with the most up-to-date information, the Urgent Care Association and the College of Urgent Care Medicine …
Read More
The idea that having to deal with COVID-driven social restrictions, concerns about illness, and mask mandates could cause problems with the public’s mental health is no longer theoretical. An article just published by JAMA Network Open reveals that some individuals started to have struggles as early as spring of 2020, the earliest time period covered by the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Civic Life and Public Health Survey. Researchers assessed psychological distress in four waves: April 7–13, …
Read More
The general public’s concerns about patients with COVID-19 tend to focus on the respiratory effects of the virus. Thrombotic events can endanger patients during and after related hospitalization, however, indicating that urgent care providers need to be aware of and vigilant for signs that recently discharged patients could fall prey to venous thromboembolism and other events. According to an article just published by The Lancet, patients who received rivaroxaban 10 mg/day for 35 days experienced …
Read More
In spite of major public information campaigns on the safety and lifesaving capability of the COVID-19 vaccines, only around half of American are fully vaccinated (meaning they’ve received the full complement of a one- or two-dose vaccine and a booster shot). And only 80% have gotten their standard doses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, getting at least some more patients to comply with vaccination guidelines may take something quite simple: …
Read More
It’s no secret that disparities exist between the accessibility and quality of care afforded to various economic and racial groups in the United States. We don’t need to look any further than the COVID-19 pandemic for evidence of that, as immunization and testing rates have generally been lower among people of color compared with white individuals. Paradoxically, the pandemic may provide the impetus for positive change in healthcare inequities, as well as a new opportunity …
Read More