Practice Management
Last summer, and certainly the seasons that followed, had most Americans struggling with disruptions in the routines and isolated from their social norms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Young singles may have been especially frustrated with reduced opportunities to meet and mingle. Now, however, with mask mandates and social distancing restrictions largely a thing of the past, the dating seen is back in full force—with public health experts now seeming as worried about a surge …
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It took a while for the general public—and even some clinicians—to accept that COVID-19 really is dangerous for children. While it’s true that fewer children died or experienced severe disease compared with adults, it’s now been shown that there is some degree of risk. And, of course, there’s always the danger that a child can infect an older person who is at great risk for a poor outcome. Likewise, it’s important to know that children, …
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s admonition that the southern portion of the United States could see a surge of respiratory syncytial virus cases this summer is coming to fruition as we speak—although the scope of the problem appears to be much broader than the CDC anticipated. While the southeast is leading the way in terms of number of cases, RSV (usually higher in the winter) is more prevalent than would be expected for …
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So many patients have lingering symptoms after the SARS-CoV-2 virus has actually resolved that distinctive names have emerged: long-haul COVID-19, or post-COVID condition. Complaints can include those associated directly with the virus—eg, shortness of breath, body aches, fatigue—or an entirely new set that could include twitching muscles, racing heart, and various gastrointestinal problems. Be prepared to administer COVID-19 tests or antibody tests to rule out true infection. In addition, according to the Centers for Disease …
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Recently, we shared data indicating that use of telemedicine appears to be on the decline following a brief period of increased utilization. Now an article published by JAMA Network confirms that those fluctuations tracked along with the COVID-19 pandemic, while also shedding light on who was drawn to virtual visits when in-person care seemed too daunting to some patients. Specifically, data from the IQVIA National Disease and Therapeutic Index showed that 77% of telehealth “visits” …
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Despite great strides in urgent care, overprescribing of antibiotics and related resistance to potentially lifesaving medications continues to be a concern across multiple practice settings. Sometimes it’s easier to write that prescription than it is to resist the urge to please patients and rack up high satisfaction scores. What if we found out that prescribers are equally swayed by the opinion of a respected colleague? That could be the case, it turns out, according to …
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An urgent care physician in the San Francisco Bay area was arrested recently on suspicion of sexual battery. A patient charged that he made repeated, unwanted sexual advances and even forced himself on her three times. Local media reports raise the specter that there could be other victims yet to come forward. There’s no indication that his employer had any idea about his alleged predatory behavior, and at this point there’s no indication that they’ll …
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It’s always been hard to get a good read on how telehealth would ultimately fare in the urgent care industry. There have been proponents who argued that anything that increases access to medical care—which telehealth does, undeniably—would ultimately be good for the patient and any operator smart enough to seize the opportunity. Others have argued (also logically) that a virtual visit can lack some of the nuances that are so essential in making the right …
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Just a few short years ago, it appeared that tech innovator Apple had plans to veer away from its expertise by entering the brick-and-mortar healthcare marketplace. As JUCM News reported at the time, it started by hiring more than 40 physicians to provide on-site care for employees—but also to advise the company on future healthcare strategies. The idea was that they would ultimately launch primary care locations for the general public. Now it appears the …
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While people continue to celebrate a return to “normal” and what they see as the demise of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unfortunate truth is that 46 states are reporting at least a 10% increase in the number of confirmed cases. Thirty-six of those states say new cases have gone up at least 50%, according to data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. While largely vaccine-hesitant states like Arkansas and Louisiana are seeing their numbers …
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