Practice Management
About 40% of patients in the University of Colorado Health system who were prescribed a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist over a nearly 4 year time span did not fill the prescription, according to a research letter in JAMA Health Forum. Researchers analyzed 9,848 orders for 6,094 unique patients between January 2018 and September 2022, finding that overall, 5,915 (60.1%) orders were filled within 90-days. Patients with both diabetes and obesity were more likely to …
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As of October 8, 2025, there have been a total of 1,563 confirmed measles cases reported in 42 states this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The largest proportion of cases are among those ages 5-19 years (39%), and 92% of all cases are among unvaccinated people or those with unknown vaccine status. However, experts speaking to NPR believe the numbers are actually much higher than what has been reported and …
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Roflumilast 0.05% cream, a new once-daily, steroid-free treatment that can be used anywhere on the body, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in children 2 to 5 years of age. According to the manufacturer’s press release, roflumilast can be used for any duration of time, which can be a benefit because the topical steroids that have been a standard treatment are not appropriate for long-term use. …
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Today’s rapidly expanding hydration and “detox” spas are coming under scrutiny for safety concerns. The spas typically offer vitamin- and fluid-based IV infusions claiming to boost wellness almost completely without evidence. However, most of the hydration spas lack state regulations and operate with little or no medical oversight, according to a recent article in JAMA Internal Medicine. There are about 9,000 such spas in the United States, and researchers found only Alabama, North Carolina, South …
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An analysis of 19 randomized placebo-controlled trials with 6,506 participants found the commonly prescribed pain drug tramadol only modestly reduced pain scores for chronic pain—showing improvement of just 0.93 points on a 0–10 numerical scale (97.5% confidence interval [CI], −1.26 to −0.60; p < 0.0001). The effect size fell below a minimal threshold of 1.0 point as defined by the authors. Additionally, serious adverse events were more common with tramadol (odds ratio [OR] 2.13; 97.5% …
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The College of Urgent Care Medicine (CUCM) has formed a new special interest group for nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) who practice urgent care medicine. The purpose of the group is to connect NP and PA clinicians in the industry through a professional community to address topics unique to their roles, while amplifying their voices and contributions to patient care and organizational success. The group will promote continuing education, encourage leadership, and support …
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More than a dozen urgent care operators across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have filed a federal lawsuit against Solv Health, a platform that hosts a directory of urgent cares with digital features allowing consumers to book appointments. The urgent cares allege in Excel Urgent Care of Astoria PLLC et al. v. Solv Health, Inc. that Solv misrepresented their services, including claims that certain centers did not offer online scheduling when in fact they …
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In a quality improvement study of 263 ambulatory clinicians across 6 U.S. health systems published in JAMA Network Open, researchers found the use of an ambient AI scribe for 30 days significantly reduced professional burnout and administrative burden. The proportion of clinicians reporting burnout dropped from 51.9% to 38.8% (odds ratio 0.26; 95% confidence interval, 0.13–0.54). Significant improvements were observed in note-related cognitive task load (mean difference 2.64 points on a 10-point scale), focused attention …
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Healthcare workers don’t reliably test for respiratory viruses when they have symptoms, despite their risk for exposure to viruses on the job. From September 2024 to February 2025, 893 healthcare workers in Ireland completed surveys about respiratory symptoms and testing. As reported in Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology, among 321 workers with symptoms, only 202 (63%) participants used self-administered antigen tests for COVID-19. Self-testing had a greater association with female sex, those with a preexisting …
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In Tennessee, Covenant Health Urgent Care has acquired 3 independently operated Well-Key Urgent Care centers in the state, bringing the Covenant Health portfolio to a total of 6 urgent cares. This month, the 10-hospital nonprofit also opened a new urgent care rooftop as part of its planned expansion. The organization is one of 6 health system partners of Urgent Care Group. Well-Key was founded by 2 physicians in 2010 and offers urgent care services to …
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