Anemia in Seniors Could Have a Deceptively Simple Cause (If You Know to Look for It)

Anemia in Seniors Could Have a Deceptively Simple Cause (If You Know to Look for It)

Consideration of possible causes of anemia in senior citizens would likely include significant illness such as chronic kidney disease, cancer, and ulcerative colitis along with much more benign concerns like vitamin B12 deficiency. Findings just reported online by the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest the explanation could be even simpler sometimes. Secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial (Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly, or ASPREE) including 19,114 subjects 65 years of …

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If the Medication ‘Stopped Working,’ Maybe the Patient Stopped Taking It. Guess Why

If the Medication ‘Stopped Working,’ Maybe the Patient Stopped Taking It. Guess Why

Urgent care providers don’t necessarily have the benefit of a rich history with the patients they treat. So, it may be puzzling when a patient with too-high blood pressure lists an antihypertensive among their medications. Is it the wrong medication, the wrong prescription, is the patient just not “on it?” Data from the National Center for Health Statistics suggest there’s another possible explanation you should ask the patient about: cost. The NCHS says in 2021 …

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Diabetes Will Grow for the Foreseeable Future. How Many Patients Will Be Headed to UC?

Diabetes Will Grow for the Foreseeable Future. How Many Patients Will Be Headed to UC?

The number of people living with diabetes across the globe is expected to double in the coming decades, ultimately exceeding 1.3 billion by the year 2050. As reported by MedPage Today, data presented at the American Diabetes’ Society’s annual Scientific Sessions age-standardized global diabetes prevalence will jump from 6.1% to 9.8% thanks largely to unchecked increases in body mass index and social determinants of health. Limiting complications will require both better care and expanded access …

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New Data on HIV Infection Are Underwhelming—and Highlight the Need for Urgent Care Involvement

New Data on HIV Infection Are Underwhelming—and Highlight the Need for Urgent Care Involvement

While it may sound like progress that the rate of new HIV infections fell by 12% between 2017 and 2021, as reported by the Journal of the American Medical Association that actually puts the United States behind its self-prescribed pace to achieve a 90% reduction by 2030. Testing for HIV, advances in treatment, and expanded use of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) have all been cited as contributors to the downward trend. Logically, that would seem to …

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‘Choosing Wisely’ Works to Reduce Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescribing

‘Choosing Wisely’ Works to Reduce Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescribing

Depending on which data you put the most stick in, anywhere from one quarter to half of all prescriptions for antibiotics are inappropriate. The Urgent Care Association, health systems, individual practices, and various medical societies have all launched initiative to help curb that bad habit and reduce risk for associated deaths from drug-resistant infections. As reported by UCLA Health, one such initiative, Choosing Wisely—launched by the American Board of Internal Medicine more than 10 years …

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Another Twist in the Ongoing Saga of Sports-Related Concussion ‘Best Practices’

Another Twist in the Ongoing Saga of Sports-Related Concussion ‘Best Practices’

Recommended management of concussion in athletes of any level seem to change as frequently as sports seasons do. Here’s the latest: According to a statement published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, while there is no benefit to absolute rest for concussed patients, reduction in physical activity for the first 2 days after the injury is advisable. After that, however, there’s no benefit to that, either. In fact, according to the authors, the latest …

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As the Season Turns, so Does the Look of Your Patients’ Complaints. Are You Prepared?

As the Season Turns, so Does the Look of Your Patients’ Complaints. Are You Prepared?

School’s out (or about to be), the days are long, and workers are counting the days until their summer vacation. It’s all fun and games until someone has to go to urgent care. At that point, you and your team need to be prepared for a different slate of illness and injury than you’ve been seeing since last fall began. Slip-and-fall injuries and flu will largely be replaced with bites, rashes, the ill effects of …

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Legitimate Medication Use May Be Fueling the Black Market. Can You Recognize the Consequences?

Legitimate Medication Use May Be Fueling the Black Market. Can You Recognize the Consequences?

Fact: Ketamine (Ketalar) is a legal, approved medication available in the United States as an anesthetic agent indicated for diagnostic and surgical procedures that do not require skeletal muscle relaxation; for induction of anesthesia preceding general anesthesia; and to supplement low-potency agents such as nitrous oxide. It’s also used as an anesthetic agent for animals. More ominous fact: Seizures of illicit ketamine rose 1,100% from 2017 to 2022. Maybe worst of all, a newsletter article …

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COVID Patients Who Present to Your UCC Are More Likely to Be Hospitalized (Don’t Take It Personally)

COVID Patients Who Present to Your UCC Are More Likely to Be Hospitalized (Don’t Take It Personally)

Who knows what the next COVID-19 “season” may bring in terms of incidence and severity? The virus has been completely unpredictable, to date—although new data are revealing interesting likelihoods, including at least one specific to urgent care. According to a new article published by BMC Infectious Diseases, COVID patients who present to acute unscheduled episodic care (AUEC, which included both emergency rooms and urgent care centers) are more likely to require hospitalization compared with those …

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New Data Paint a Grim Picture in the Fight Against STI’s. Is Urgent Care Prepared?

New Data Paint a Grim Picture in the Fight Against STI’s. Is Urgent Care Prepared?

Incidence of multiple sexually transmitted infections has been growing for several years, according to just-released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases of syphilis alone grew at a 32% rate from 2020 to 2021; gonorrhea has climbed steadily over a 5-year period; and chlamydia cases have been picking up after a brief, minor reduction in 2020. At the same time, multiple factors point to a crisis of accessing care. For one, many …

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