Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Are We Setting Ourselves Up for the ‘Twindemic’ We Dodged Last Year?

When the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic first became evident, the term “twindemic” (simultaneous high rates of both SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal influenza) was everywhere. Not only did it never emerge, but new data published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report show that incidence of flu, respiratory syncytial virus, common human coronaviruses, parainfluenza viruses, human metapneumovirus, respiratory adenovirus, and rhinovirus and enterovirus were all actually lower than previous years. The authors speculate that the lower-than-average activity …

CDC: COVID-19 Vaccination Is Not Only Safe, but Recommended for Pregnant Patients

Most women who are pregnant are rightly cautious about what they put into their bodies. Given the newness of the COVID-19 vaccines, not to mention the misinformation abounding on social and mainstream media, it’s natural that they might be hesitant to get vaccinated. After numerous studies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has finally issued an unequivocal statement recommending that pregnant women should, indeed, get vaccinated while assuring the public that none of the …

Publicizing Your Pandemic Rules Could Facilitate Smoother—and More Plentiful—Visits

As you know, some patients consider it an infringement on their constitutional rights if they’re required to wear a mask in a private business, including an urgent care center. Others are likely to choose a location over another if they know everyone will be masked. Whatever your rules are, it’s in your (and your patients’) best interest to be as transparent as possible in order to avoid conflict and continue drawing patients who will be …

A Patient Died from COVID-19—and the Family is Suing the Doctor and PA Who Treated Him

When a patient presented with telltale symptoms of COVID-19 last fall, the physician assistant did the responsible thing and ordered a test. It came back positive. The patient died 3 weeks later, and now the man’s family is suing both the PA, the supervising physician, and the practice, alleging that their husband’s and father’s demise was due to inadequate care. First, the family claims that clinicians did not warn the patient that he was at …

The COVID-19 Vaccines All Seem to Be Working—in the Short Term, Anyway

It wasn’t that long ago that many Americans rejoiced at the news that several vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus had been developed and approved for use on an emergency basis. And while there are data showing that the vaccines do, in fact, do a good (if imperfect) job at protecting the inoculated, it now appears that at least one of them wanes 6 months after administration. A preprint report of a study published online by …

Dad Wants to Know if It’s ‘Safe’ for His Child to Start Soccer. Would You Know What to Say?

More than a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic—and in the midst of a national surge in cases—we’re still trying to figure out the virus’s impact on children. While it seems they’re less directly affected in adults, it’s widely accepted that they can have (and spread) the disease while being largely asymptomatic, but also that they’re susceptible to multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). And what about “long haulers” among children? Parents are …

Here We Go Again: U.S. COVID-19 Cases Are Surging—and There’s Plenty of Blame to Go Around

The headlines have been populated with multiple stories of COVID-19 spikes in various corners of the U.S. Prominent among them was news of an outbreak among unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals in Provincetown, MA. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three-quarters of the 470 cases there occurred in those who were fully immunized against the virus, and the Delta variant was found in most of the samples assessed. In close proximity to that …

Patients Who Left You During the Pandemic May Not Return Without an Invitation

As JUCM News has reported, many urgent care operators started suffering downturns in patient visits in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. It could be hard to get those patients back without a concerted effort on your part, according to an article just published by JAMA Network. The authors sought to determine the effect of targeted messaging on getting patients who had delayed care back into the doctor’s office, comparing sending a letter vs …

Could Dollar General Succeed Where Walmart Has Failed?

JUCM and JUCM News have been tracking Walmart’s unsuccessful efforts to become a go-to destination for their customers’ healthcare needs for years. The idea that shoppers would appreciate the convenience of getting a strep test or a flu shot where they buy tires simply hasn’t caught on among healthcare consumers. Now Dollar General apparently thinks it has a shot at getting the idea right among its acknowledged customer base of lower-income, largely rurally located Americans. …

Still Have Staffers Resisting COVID-19 Vaccination? Share These Data on Asymptomatic Infection

Anecdotally, it seems clear that there are too many healthcare professionals among the population resisting COVID-19 vaccination. A study just published by JAMA Network may be more persuasive than any workplace edict in getting them to opt for the best protection available. Researchers at the University of California Irvine evaluated rates of COVID-19 infection, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, before and after vaccination with the Pfizer or Moderna versions of the vaccine. Subjects were screened daily …