Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Help Your Occ Med Customers Ensure a Healthy Return for the Workforce

Workplaces across the country are starting to take steps toward normalcy, with restaurants in many states letting patrons back in or offering outdoor dining options. Retail and office jobs will follow. That doesn’t mean folks feel safe going back after months of working remotely, however, or that precautions shouldn’t be taken to prevent a second wave of COVID-19 infections. Pennsylvania-based St. Luke’s Occupational Medicine, in collaboration with St. Luke’s Behavioral Health, St. Luke’s Fitness Centers, …

Latest UCA/CUCM COVID-19 Data Reveal Telemedicine—and Related Reimbursements—Continue to Climb

The Urgent Care Association’s weekly snapshot of how urgent care operators are faring during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that telemedicine is continuing to contribute to both patient care and related revenues. This week’s data show that 87% of responding urgent care centers are offering telemedicine through their locations; the remaining 13% have no plans to add it right now, however. The good news for those who have taken the leap is that most are being …

Be Aware: Patients Are Poisoning Themselves in Greater Numbers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

U.S. poison control centers have seen calls related to cleaning products and disinfectants jump 20% in the first quarter of 2020 compared with 2019, according to data posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly two-thirds of exposures have been related to bleach, while hand sanitizers and nonalcoholic disinfectants are each at the root of roughly one-third of the calls, each. (The data could reflect exposure to multiple chemicals for any one event.) …

Take Stock of What Non Urgent Services You’re Prepared to Offer—and Let the Community Know

As we’ve told you, many patients concerned about exposing themselves to others who may have contracted COVID-19 have steered clear of healthcare facilities for acute but minor complaints, and certainly for preventive health visits. At some point that practice will exact a toll on our collective health, however. An urgent care provider at Upper Valley Urgent Care in El Paso, TX told television station KFOX-14 exactly that recently, at the same time sharing a valuable …

Be Aware: GI Complaints Are Common in Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children

When COVID-19 first came to widespread attention, it appeared that the virus was not high-risk for children compared with (especially older) adults. While that may be true in the strictest sense, as more cases have come to light and been the subject of scrutiny it’s become clear that the associated novel multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) can have a severe impact on children. Now the journal Gastroenterology has published data revealing that gastrointestinal signs …

New (and Must-Read) from CUCM: A COVID-19 Risk Stratification Guide for Urgent Care

Because COVID-19 is a novel virus that was at first dismissed as a problem unlikely to affect the U.S., only to spread very quickly once it reached our borders, the healthcare system was largely caught off unprepared to prevent the virus or treat those afflicted. Urgent care was certainly no different. It hasn’t taken long for our industry to start catching up, though. In concert with the American College of Emergency Physicians, the College of …

At UCA, a Changing of the Guard

The Urgent Care Association announced that CEO Laurel Stoimenoff will be retiring at the end of 2020. In order to ensure a smooth transition as the industry fights to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic (while simultaneously preparing for a possible second wave), she will transition to a new role as executive director of quality & innovation until the end of the year. Stepping into the role of CEO will be Lou Ellen Horwitz, who will …

Be Prepared: As States Reopen, COVID-19 Cases Are Already Climbing

New cases of COVID-19 are no longer making news every day, thanks to the fact that the much-discussed “curve” flattened. However, as restrictions start easing the number of cases is on the rise again. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. had the largest jump in daily cases in the world—a 36.5% increase in a single day. Data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency confirmed the figure. Worse, average …

Finally, Weekly Visits to Urgent Care Are on the Rise

Most urgent care centers across the U.S. have taken a beating since social distancing recommendations and lockdown orders took hold. Patient visits fell sharply as patients who would typically come in for relatively minor complaints decided leaving home wasn’t worth the perceived risk. Finally, as parts of the country start to ease restrictions, data tracked by Experity show the industry is bouncing back strongly. Perhaps the most encouraging statistic is the difference in 7-day average …

Update: The Lancet Has Withdrawn an Article Associating Hydroxychloroquine with Ventricular Arrhythmia

The Lancet has taken the extraordinary step of retracting a paper that garnered worldwide headlines when it was published in May. That article had suggested that hydroxychloroquine—purported by some to be a possible treatment for, or agent to prevent COVID-19—was associated with higher rates of ventricular arrhythmia and death in patients with the virus. While there is no evidence that the conclusions are incorrect, Lancet says it withdrew the article at the request of three …