Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Assessing the Rate at which Pacemaker and Defibrillator Patients Present to the Emergency Room with their Manufacturer ID Card: A Cross Sectional Study

Urgent message: Care can be delayed if an urgent care or emergency clinician attempts to interrogate the CIED of a patient who does not know their device manufacturer and does not carry their ID card. This scenario illustrates the importance of patient education in care centers, such as the emergency department and urgent care. Tinh M. Le; James F. Neuenschwander, MD, FACEP; Mary Jones, DNP; Ankur Parekh; Hana Le; Kaitlyn Cedoz; and Clark Daugherty ABSTRACT …

Return to Sports in the COVID-19 Era: A Clinical Review

Urgent message: The COVID-19 worldwide pandemic has changed sports as we know it. Returning athletes back to sport safely continues to be widely debated among physicians in cardiology, primary care, infectious disease, and sports medicine. The return-to-play process after a COVID-19 infection will depend on the severity of their infection, duration of symptoms in the context of any concerning past medical history, and/or family history. Brian Harvey, DO and Natalie Stork, MD CASE PRESENTATION A …

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, Much Discussed in Children, Is Also Killing Adults

Though multisystem inflammatory syndrome has been more associated with COVID-19 infection in children (hence, MIS-C), a newly published study delves into the most common characteristics—and risks—of MIS in adults. Urgent care clinicians should be aware that the study indicates that MIS-A presents roughly 4 weeks after acute COVID-19, with hyperinflammation and extrapulmonary multiorgan involvement that the researchers found “difficult to discern from acute biphasic COVID-19 and postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection.” Of the 221 patients …

Research into Preventing and Treating COVID-19 Continues—and Urgent Care Has a Seat at the Table

Urgent care was notoriously overlooked as a key contributor early in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, first as a testing resource and then as a powerful partner in vaccination campaigns. At least one urgent care company is ensuring that the industry will be represented in research into not only preventing the virus, but also establishing definitive treatments for ill patients. Houston-based Next Level Urgent Care says it is launching three clinical trials to evaluate …

‘Clothes Make the Man’ May Be Trite (and Sexist), but How You Dress Matters to Patients

Scrubs? Traditional white coat (with a dress shirt and tie for men or a blouse and a skirt for women, or more casual)? How about a polo with your facility’s logo emblazoned on the chest? It’s not just a matter of what you’re comfortable wearing, or your employer’s dress code. Patients get definite perceptions of the care they’re about to receive based on your sartorial choices—to the extent that they may trust you more or …

Salmonella Outbreak Reaches Over Half of U.S. States; Does the CDC Have a Bead on the Source?

A Salmonella outbreak that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has described as growing “rapidly” has now sickened 279 people in 29 states, with no strong indications of the source at this time. While that number seems small, the number of infections doubled in the course of a week and the CDC and health officials in multiple states have been hard pressed to identify the source. While they’re narrowing the possibilities down—Salmonella has been …

Why COVID-19 Is a Problem for All Urgent Care Patients (and Operators), Not Just Those at Risk

Vaccination and taking responsible safety measures have done much to reduce risk for infection with COVID-19, and probably done just as much to ease anxiety over getting sick with the virus. Even if a patient doesn’t come within a mile of an infected person, though, it’s getting more likely that the pandemic will have an adverse effect on their healthcare and on your ability to run a smooth operation. According to a report from Reuters, …

Is Niche Marketing a Way to Reach Underserved Populations—and Promote Your Services?

It’s no secret that there are inequities in delivery of healthcare in the United States. Those who reside in rural areas and people of color, in particular, are underserved when it comes to medical care. This has been further proven by the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 on various populations. Blue Cross Blue Shield thinks one solution may be establishing urgent care and other healthcare facilities within communities where there are high densities of a particular …

Flouting Mandates and Misinforming Patients Bring Swift Consequences (ie, Loss of License)

We’re all entitled to our opinions. More often than not, differences occur between healthcare providers and patients, such as when you’re trying to convince a reluctant individual to get the COVID-19 vaccine. When there’s disagreement between a licensed physician and governing bodies, though, there’s a more statutory concern. And a physician in Oregon just got a taste of how severe the consequences are for those who stray from passive disagreement to outright disobedience. The primary …

Timely Update: You Can Administer Flu Shots and COVID-19 Vaccine in the Same Visit

Just as urgent care operators are gearing up for one of the more precarious flu seasons in memory—while also continuing to guard against the health and economic threats of the COVID-19 pandemic—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a significant change from its most recent seasonal vaccine recommendations. Where the CDC at first advised against administering a flu shot (or any other shot) within 2 weeks of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, they now say …