Practice

With Thanksgiving family get-togethers over, college kids have gone back to campus and younger children are back in class, ready to share not only amusing holiday anecdotes but new cases of COVID-19, as well. Elementary schools in some areas are already reporting a jump in new cases compared with weeks leading up to the long weekend, practically ensuring that more cases will follow as the 14-day incubation period unfolds. Some state and local health departments …

There continue to be individuals walking among us who don’t believe that the COVID-19 vaccine is effective and safe. And probably even more who don’t think wearing a mask reduces risk of infection. If patients or staff complain to you that it’s all overkill with no benefit to be had, share the results of two new studies indicating that both vaccination and mask wearing are effective tools to slow the spread of the virus. (This …

Most Americans with typical jobs will be at home or visiting loved ones (possibly for the first time in years) over Thanksgiving weekend. Urgent care professionals do not have typical jobs, of course, so it’s possible that many will be reporting to work ready to care for patients who can’t wait for other medical practices to open and really don’t need to go to the hassle and expense of going to the emergency room for …

A Colorado urgent care operator has been suspended from participating in the state’s COVID-19 vaccination program after an unannounced site inspection revealed “irregularities” ranging from the manner in which the vaccine was stored, high vaccine wastage, and inappropriate administration to patients outside of the recommended age group. To make matters worse, the state now considers any vaccinations administered at the now-suspended clinics to be invalid; patients who got their shots there will have to receive …

It’s been observed in numerous studies (some reported on by JUCM News) that some ethnic groups have fared better than others throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue of why that could be is a bit more complex, although a study just published by JAMA Network Open might suggest some answers. First, the data confirm the fact that African American, Hispanic, and Asian-American individuals have been more likely to test positive for and to be admitted …

Just in time for the Thanksgiving break, incidence of COVID-19 is creeping up again in many areas within the United States. While that’s probably not surprising, given the ongoing relaxation of masking rules and slow uptake of vaccination among children, it is alarming when one considers that families and friend groups who passed on large group celebrations last year are gearing up to mass together for turkey day next week. According to data published by …

Patients can get flu shots—and now, COVID-19 vaccines—in a lot of locations other than your urgent care center. And certainly providing a couple of vaccines is not going to be a significant revenue stream. However, with so many people still in need of both, encouraging as many of them as possible to receive both vaccines could be viewed as a public service—and one that could help introduce you to countless families who could become long-term …

Low awareness of potentially lifesaving preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV may be leaving Black, Hispanic, and Latino patients at a disproportionate risk for illness and death compared with other patient populations according to an analysis of National HIV Prevention Program Monitoring and Evaluation data published recently by JAMA Network. Hispanic and Latino people make up 18% of the U.S. population but accounted for 29% of new U.S. HIV diagnoses between 2015 and 2019. Black Americans …

Even though rising COVID-19 vaccination rates are helping to slow the spread and severity of the virus, a lot of patients are still putting off care that could help them reduce their risk for serious health consequences. According to a new report from NPR and Harvard University, as aired on Houston Public Radio, as many as one in five American families continue to delay care for everything from routine treatments to serious illness. Seeing as …

A mom brings her son to an urgent care center because she’s concerned he could have a sinus infection. It would be the quintessential urgent care presentation that resolved successfully in minutes—if it didn’t become a public relations nightmare for the operator and staff instead. The problem began with what one of the nurses referred to as the facility’s “policy” to not treat patients who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19, and the fact that …