Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Express Scripts Is on the Same Page with the White House on Opioids

President Trump recently declared the epidemic of opioid addiction and related deaths to be a national emergency, pledging the federal government would spending more money and pay more attention to stemming the crisis. While details are still to come, theoretically future actions could include mandatory education for prescribers nationally and increasing funds to treatment and prevention programs. Coinciding with that, Express Scripts, the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit manager, is trying to restrict access to opioids. …

Marketing of Home STD Tests Misses the Mark—at What Cost to the Patient?

Rates of infection with sexually transmitted disease are up. If you practice in urgent care, you probably don’t need statistics to know that, as many patients concerned about possibly having an STD find comfort in the relative anonymity of the urgent care center, and opt to get tested there instead of in their “regular” doctor’s office. Now the makers of “home tests” are taking aim at these same prospective patients with marketing messages that promote …

Eclipse Tourism Sparks Urgent Care Staffing Changes

Citizens from coast to coast will have a rare opportunity to witness a total solar eclipse on August 21. States directly in its 70-mile-wide path—Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina—are bracing for a massive influx of sky watchers intent on witnessing the phenomenon. Urgent care centers are shoring up their staffing in response. For example, Oregon’s St. Charles Health System is bringing in extra staff from …

CDC Advises: Be Vigilant for Cyclospora cayetanensis Infection

Cases of Cyclospora cayetanensis infections have more than doubled in 2017 compared with the same period in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases are not geographically centered, either: 27 states have confirmed the diagnosis, which is marked by watery diarrhea, anorexia, fatigue, weight loss, nausea, flatulence, abdominal cramping, and myalgia. Cyclospora infection can spread via food or water contaminated with the parasite; however, it is not transmitted directly from one …

CDC Update on Antibiotics Embraces Role of Urgent Care

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2017 report Antibiotic Use in the United States: Progress and Opportunities embraces urgent care as an active participant in both healthcare delivery and antibiotic stewardship more than ever before. The CDC notes that urgent care has experienced “tremendous growth” and that continuing to incorporate antibiotic stewardship as a core value “will be an important factor in optimizing antibiotic use.” To support those efforts, the CDC put together The …

Consider What Else Might Be Going on with Sunburn Patients

Patients who seek care for sunburn in emergency rooms and urgent care centers often have complicating concerns—some of which have little directly to do with the sunburn, according to a new report published in JAMA Dermatology. Psychiatric illness (9.3% of cases), alcohol use (6.4%), and homelessness (6.4%) were among the more common, according to researchers from Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and associated urgent care clinics. More closely linked with sunburn were blistering …

Opioid Prescriptions Are Down—But Still Too High, According to NIDA

Though the rate of prescriptions for opioids has fallen over the past 7 years, more than one third of all adults in the U.S. were prescribed a narcotic pain medication in 2015. Worse, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), around 5% of the population is misusing opioids—eg, by not following directions or taking them without a prescription at all (having received them from family or friends in 41% of those cases). Around …

Start Beating the Back-to-School Vaccination Drum Now

Lots of families are just heading out for summer vacation these days, which means they probably haven’t even considered whether children have all the vaccinations they need before going back to school. That gives you the perfect opportunity to remind them. The next time a child comes in for care, make sure you know their vaccine status—and what’s required based on their age, guidelines, and state law. Helping patients understand your role as a public …

Most Kids in Anaphylaxis Have No Treatment Before Presenting to Urgent Care or ED

Barely more than a third of children brought to an urgent care center or emergency room with anaphylaxis have received epinephrine before arriving, according to a new study published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. According to the report, which reflects the cases of 408 children with an average age of 7.25 years, just 36% of the patients had received epinephrine before reporting to an urgent care center or ED. The odds were …

Stress Hydration—and Urgent Care Services—This Summer

We see lots of public service announcements and signs every summer warning against the dangers of locking pets in hot cars. Less publicized are the everyday dangers of people sweating profusely in extreme heat without drinking enough water. Providence Urgent Care noted that with an advisory to residents around its locations, and garnered media attention in the Spokane, WA area in the process. Revealing that they see patients with symptoms of dehydration much more frequently …

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