Practice Management
Urgent message: Falls are a common reason for geriatric patients to present for medical care. In this population, even seemingly minor falls can lead to significant injury, and falls may occur in the first place because of serious underlying medical illnesses. It is critical for the urgent care provider to distinguish which of these patients can be treated in the urgent care setting and which require transfer to a higher level of care. REBEKAH BLICKENDORF, …
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Urgent message: The possibility of ear infection is the most common reason parents seek care for their young children during viral upper respiratory infections with fever. Urgent care providers should know the new criteria for making the clinical diagnosis and how to use technology such as an acoustic otoscope before concluding that antibiotics are necessary. MICHAEL E. PICHICHERO, MD Diagnosing acute otitis media (AOM) is a visual process based on viewing the eardrum and determining …
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Urgent message: As the incidence of tick bites increases, it is imperative for urgent care physicians to be able to recognize various species of ticks and the symptoms of tick-borne illnesses and to know what to do when a patient presents with a tick bite. TOYIN FAPOHUNDA-ADEKOLA, MD, MBA Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne infection in the United States (Figure 1) and Europe. With a total of 279,509 cases reported between 2003 and …
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Urgent message: Diarrheal illness presents with varying degrees of severity and a broad range of etiologies. The urgent care center provider’s ability to gather key information from the medical history and physical examination, determine when laboratory testing is beneficial, and recognize indications for treatment is essential for the effective and efficient treatment of this common symptom. NATHAN M. FINNERTY, MD, and MICHAEL WEINSTOCK, MD Introduction Diarrheal illness is a common presenting complaint to all urgent care centers. In the United …
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Urgent message: Urgent care centers are encouraged to meet best practices for communication during transitions of care. Partnering with pharmacists may optimize medication therapy for patients, helping fulfill these best practices. JENNIFER A. FLAVIN, PharmD, CHRISTOPHER G. GREEN, PharmD, STEPHANIE C. COOK, DO, and STUART J. BEATTY, PharmD, BCACP Objective: This study aimed to (1) evaluate the impact of a pharmacist-provided comprehensive medication review (CMR) service on medication therapy appropriateness, safety, efficacy, and adherence for …
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Urgent message: Burn injuries present with varying degrees of involvement and severity. It is vital that providers in an urgent care facility understand burn classification, treatments, and, most important, which burn patients can be treated in an outpatient setting and which patients require a higher level of care. DREW LONG, BS, BRIT LONG, MD, and ALEX KOYFMAN, MD Introduction Burn injuries are often devastating and are a leading cause of accidental injury and trauma in …
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Urgent message: Health-care practitioners frequently see patients in urgent care centers who have elevated blood pressure. It is vital that they be able to identify hypertensive emergencies to immediately start lowering such patients’ blood pressure and then transfer them to an emergency department, to avoid hypertensive damage to the brain, heart, and kidneys. JON JUHASZ, MD Introduction Elevated blood pressure (BP) is very common in the urgent care setting, oftentimes from pain or from chronic …
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Urgent message: Fear of fever leads many parents to seek urgent care. Addressing their fears should be part of the care of febrile children. DEENA R. ZIMMERMAN, MD, MPH, IBCLC; NAHUM KOVALSKI, MD; BARUCH HAIN, BA; and JOSHUA LIPSITZ, PHD In several studies, researchers have found that a large percentage of parents have fever phobia, or inaccurate beliefs about the harmfulness of an elevated body temperature. Those studies were conducted in primary-care settings, so we …
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Urgent message: Respiratory tract infections are a common complaint in the urgent care setting. Many patients present with the expectation of receiving antibiotics because they have usually done so. The rise of anti biotic-resistant infections requires that we take a close look at our prescribing habits and the need to reeducate patients on the harm of overusing antibiotics. Delayed prescribing offers a way to both satisfy patients and reduce the use of antibiotics in respiratory …
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Urgent message: Because bite and stings can be sustained in a variety of settings from many different animals and can transmit a wide variety of infectious agents, urgent care providers should have specific knowledge about treating wounds from mammals, nonmammals, and marine animals. ALEXANDER NATHANSON, MD Practitioners at urgent care centers often see patients who have sustained animal bites or stings. In addition to causing structural damage to tissues, bites and stings expose patients to …
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