Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays—and Spreading Infectious Disease

The good news on the tripledemic front as Christmas and New Year celebrations approach, according to multiple mainstream media and health department sources, is that new cases of respiratory syncytial virus and influenza have probably peaked. The correlating less-rosy news, as reported by Becker’s Hospital Review, is that packing large groups of people into inside spaces over the next week is likely to reverse the trend in pretty short order. The same goes for the …

If Your Business Hasn’t Been Impacted by Rural Hospital Closures, It Most Likely Will

We’ve reported previously on the opportunity that rural hospital closures and cutbacks could present for urgent care operators to step in and thrive in communities in desperate need of healthcare options. New research out of the Penn State College of Medicine paints a broader picture of the potential impact not just for affected communities and prospective new providers, but for what they term “bystander hospitals”—facilities within a 30 mile radius of one that has closed. …

Routine Vaccinations Skipped During the Pandemic May Be Coming Back to Haunt Us Now

Well-care visits to healthcare providers essentially ceased during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. That included routine vaccination for children. It wasn’t much of a threat for a while, as kids had little face-to-face interaction with anyone outside their family, thereby lowering risk of any infectious disease. Now, however, healthcare officials are concerned that a measles outbreak in the Midwest United States could be the harbinger of a national or even global emergency. As reported …

Yet Another Viral Threat Is on the Rise in the U.S.—and It’s Already Proven Deadly

As if unusually high rates of hospitalization for respiratory syncytial virus and flu, along with sporadic spikes in COVID-19, aren’t enough at least four hospitals in the United States are seeing a growing number of severe cases of Streptococcus A infection. As reported by NBC News, children’s hospitals in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and Washington have reported spikes in invasive Strep group A. Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston has recorded roughly 60 cases in October and …

The Holidays Are Tough Times for Addicts. Be Vigilant for Drug Seekers

This time of year is notoriously difficult for addicts. Whether due to diagnosed seasonal affective disorder, exposure to substances at holiday parties, or simply seeking relief from the winter blues, even individuals committed to sobriety can stumble. Some will head for urgent care centers in the hope that a provider they haven’t seen before could be duped with tales of acute pain from an after-hours dental issue or a fall. As such, this might be …

Update: The Amoxicillin Shortage Not Only Continues—It’s Getting Worse

When we last reported on the ongoing shortage of amoxicillin products, the crisis involved 29 products and fulfillment was expected anywhere between November and January. According to new information from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, however, the shortage has spread to include 44 products and fulfillment isn’t expected until mid-January or early February, depending on the product and manufacturer. Check with pharmacies before prescribing.

New Threats Are Putting Sensitive Patient Information at Risk. Are Your Records Safe?

A pair of high-profile incidents should serve as a sharp reminder to always keep cybersecurity in mind when conducting or promoting your business online. First, as reported by the Washington Post, hospitals and health systems that employ Twitter’s advertising pixel could inadvertently be sending sensitive information back to the social media company, with a high risk that the data could be shared with entities that have invested heavily in Twitter. According to the WaPo article, …

Update: With COVID and Flu Catching Up to RSV, Is It Time to Bring the Masks Out Again?

Just last week we reported that the national influenza profile in the United States was worse than it’s been in a decade—and the situation has only deteriorated since then, with even more states reporting either “high” or “very high” flu activity. At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says incidence of COVID-19 jumped 50% in a single week, from 300,000 cases confirmed at the end of November to 460,000 in the …

Want to Engender a Loyal Patient Base? Mocking Them on Social Media Is Not the Way to Go

Unless they’ve come in for an annual physical or something similarly mundane, patients are probably not having the best of days if they’re visiting an urgent care center. Certainly medical emergencies and childbirth are high-stress situations. It should go without saying that all parties deserve to be treated with respect as a bare minimum at all times. Apparently it does need to be said, though. As reported by 11 Alive in Atlanta, four nurses at …

Visits Are Up, Staffing Is Down—Moving Some UC Operators to Reconsider Telehealth

A shortage of providers while patient visits climb due to flu, respiratory syncytial virus, and COVID-19 is having a negative impact on multiple practice settings. Compounding the challenge in urgent care is the fact that some patients turn to this setting when they’ve already experienced delays in getting care in primary care, specialty practices, or the emergency room. We’ve told you recently about one urgent care center that’s dealing with the traffic-flow problem by going …

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