Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

CDC Updates Data on Antibiotic Resistance—and Related Deaths—Again

We told you recently that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised its estimate of the number of American who die every year from an antibiotic-resistant infections (from the long-held total of 23,000 to around 35,000 deaths). Just last week, however, the CDC revealed that the actual number is thought to be 44,000 deaths annually, out of 3 million people who become ill with resistant infections. At the same time, though, prevention efforts like …

It’s a Season of Cheer for Most—and the Highest Period of Suicide Risk for Others; Be Prepared

Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s Eve and Day move many people to embrace religious and cultural festivities with family and friends. For those who are isolated, experiencing a downturn in their life experience, or struggling with mental or emotional illness, however, the winter holidays usher in additional risk for suicide. While the overall trend for suicides in the U.S. is concerning—suicide rates increased 25.4% between 1999 and 2016—January continues to be the month in which …

Next Up on the Evening News—Why Not You?

What do you think it would cost to get 6 minutes of exposure on television, demonstrating your clinical expertise by talking about a wide range of high-interest health topics? It’s actually a moot question, because a) you probably couldn’t afford it and b) if you’re the chief medical officer of Peachtree Immediate Care in Atlanta, you just got it for free. James Yost, MD sat down with one of the hosts of 11 Alive’s atl&co …

Primary Care Access is Waning; Those Patients Should Be Coming to Your Urgent Care Center

What has been mostly anecdotal over the past several years has now been confirmed by researchers from Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Fewer patients than ever are going to traditional primary care practices, meaning their patronage is up for grabs. Between 2002 and 2015, there was a 2% drop in the number of patients who have an established primary care provider. While younger patients, people of color, …

If Patients Can’t Park Near Your Clinic, They Won’t Be YOUR Patients for Long

A little boy bangs his toe on the coffee table while chasing his cat around the house. He’s screaming bloody murder and his mom is convinced he’s broken a bone. It’s a scenario tailor-made for urgent care, so she drives immediately to your clinic—only to find the only parking spot is across the street, in the municipal lot. Be assured she’s not parking there; nor is she going to circle until something opens up. She’s …

Who Are the Shining Stars of the Urgent Care Galaxy?

True urgent care innovators—including a long-time JUCM contributor and supporter—and humanitarians are being honored with Urgent Care Foundation Awards in 2020. Perhaps most familiar to JUCM readers will be David Stern, MD, who is set to receive the Foundation’s Outstanding Achievement Award for his long history of having a positive impact on the industry. Dr. Stern created an urgent care-specific electronic medical records and practice management software company, Practice Velocity, which recently merged with DocuTAP …

Are Emerging Home Testing Options ‘Disruptive’—or a New Opportunity for Urgent Care?

Not long ago, LabCorp started offering consumers the opportunity to order and administer some 90 different lab tests for themselves. Now comes word that Amazon is looking for a way to get into the home diagnostics business; according to CNBC, the company recently tried, but failed, to acquire a diagnostic start-up called Confer Health. Given Amazon’s ability to reach patients at home 24 hours a day, it stands to reason that a successful entry into …

More Patients Slip Sliding Away—into the Urgent Care Center

With the advent of holiday cheer and office parties comes the resurgence of cold-weather injuries, many of which will present to urgent care centers. In addition to ensuring staff and inventories are suitably prepared, some urgent care operators are also reaching out to the public with advice on avoiding injury—but also with the subtle message that their clinic is prepared to treat them at a moment’s notice. American Family Care, for example, got news stories …

New Merger Creates the Busiest Urgent Care Operation in Georgia

Piedmont Urgent Care by WellStreet and Summit Urgent Care have gotten together in a merger that creates the largest urgent care network, by patient visits, in the state of Georgia. The move diversifies the geographic areas for both companies; where Summit’s locations have been primarily in suburbs surrounding the city, Piedmont’s clinics are spread throughout more urban Atlanta neighborhoods. The ability to reach patients in both types of neighborhoods could give the newly formed operation …

Patients Are Not Getting the Point: Vaping Kills

Deaths attributed to e-cigarette, or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) have started rising so fast that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is updating figures weekly. The latest figures, from December 10, note 2,291 cases in which patients have had to be hospitalized across all 50 states plus Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Fifty-two people in the U.S. have died across 26 states and the District of Columbia. The stereotypical image …

Login to JUCM