Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Join Virtual Discussions About ‘Bounceback!’ Cases

One hour of free CME will be offered in the forthcoming Bouncebacks! Book Club virtual discussions. The book series Bouncebacks!—created by The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine’s Senior Clinical Editor Michael Weinstock, MD, and colleagues—takes a fresh approach to the practice of medicine by focusing on “bounce-back” visits with a collection of case reports. The Bouncebacks! series presents the actual documentation of an emergency encounter, analyzes it from a risk-management and patient-safety perspective, then reveals …

19% of Health Workers Feel Burned Out

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes the well-being and working conditions for health workers using self-reported, cross-sectional data. From 2018 to 2022, health workers reported an increase in days where they felt their mental health was poor (from 3.3 days to 4.5 days). Meanwhile, the percentage who reported feeling burnout “very often” increased from 11.6% to 19.0%. Overall, 57.0% reported anxiety symptoms in 2022, and 44.2% reported being …

Patient First Set For Halloween X-ray Tradition

Once again, Patient First is offering community members free X-rays of their trick-or-treat Halloween candy each evening until November 3. The goal is for kids to become familiar with the urgent care setting and the providers and staff, which may ease some anxiety should they return for another reason. Not to mention, looking at the caramel center of a candy bar is much more fun than looking at a broken bone. Possible recruitment for the …

Physicians Fight Drug-Seeking Behavior

More than 111,000 people died as a result of a drug overdose between April 2022 and April 2023, according to the most recent federal data. Compared to January 2015 data—when deaths reached 47,523—today’s overdose numbers have increased a staggering 133%. Medical Economics recently created a checklist of red flags to watch for in patients who might be seeking prescription pain medications as a way to ward off cravings or withdrawal associated with substance use disorders. …

Sniffling Leads to Sneaking a Dose of Leftover Antibiotics

Individuals are obtaining antibiotics that were not prescribed for them from a variety of sources—including other countries, the internet, friends, relatives, or from previous prescriptions—and using them to self-treat their cold and flu symptoms, according to a press release from the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Convenience, past treatment experiences, and the hassle of navigating the healthcare system are among the reasons patients said they take the “nonprescription” antibiotics. The study was presented by the Baylor College …

UCs Recognized for Behavioral Health Awareness

Industry advocates are encouraging healthcare leaders to take a hard look at their licensing, credentialing, and privileging applications and rewrite any questions that could perpetuate stigma around behavioral health issues. The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to reduce burnout and safeguard health professionals’ wellbeing, recently recognized 59 urgent care organizations and 75 hospitals among its WellBeing First Champions—organizations that have made application updates consistent with the foundation’s recommendations. What matters most: …

More PAs Choose the Urgent Care Setting

Just over 10% of certified physician assistants (PAs) with a specialty in emergency medicine worked in the urgent care practice setting in 2022, according to the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants in its recent statistical profile of PAs. Here’s the good news: While 10% is a small subset of the PA workforce within the emergency medicine category, it’s a significant jump from the 6.6% who reported working in UC settings in the commission’s …

Staff Shortages Inspire Creative Hiring Solutions

Total Access Urgent Care in the St. Louis area has temporarily closed five locations because of staffing shortages, according to Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations Kelly Baynes, as reported by the local Fox News station. Elsewhere in town, 24/7 Urgent Care has also closed two of its locations. Baynes confirmed the Total Access centers will reopen with appropriate staff and told the station the company recently launched an EMT class to attract job seekers to …

Data on Accident-Prone States Hold Hidden Clues to Help You Bring in More Patients

The topline data may barely be of interest to the urgent care provider or operator, but the results of a study conducted by Journo Research and published in the Daily Independent in Phoenix reveal that Arizona is the most accident-prone state in the nation. The methodology used to arrive at that conclusion could be invaluable, though, as the research was based on an analysis of online search data related directly to urgent care. In fact, …

The Most Common Injuries Seen in the ED Could Be Managed in Urgent Care. Why Aren’t They?

You could probably guess what many of the most common injuries presenting to the emergency room are. Seeing just how big the numbers are might give you pause, however, especially when you consider how many urgent care centers could be managing those patients—and taking in the associated revenue while helping to improve overcrowding in the ED and lowering healthcare spending in the United States. According to a post by Patient Care Online, culled from data …