The ‘Triage’ Misnomer in Urgent Care

The ‘Triage’ Misnomer in Urgent Care

Urgent message: While the term “triage” refers to one distinct step in emergency department throughput, in urgent care the concept encompasses a series of activities that span queuing, registering, intake, and the physical exam. Given the clinical and legal implications of the term, including who legally can triage, the term should be avoided in most urgent care settings. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc According to modern dictionaries, triage refers to the “assignment of degrees of …

Abstracts in Urgent Care – February 2023

Ivan Koay MBChB, MRCS, FRNZCUC, MD Quinolone Eardrops and Achilles Tendon-Related Outcomes Take-home point: Quinolone eardrops were associated with an increased risk of all-type tendon rupture, including Achilles tendon (AT), but not AT tendinitis. Citation: Tran P, Antonelli P and Winterstein A. Quinolone ear drops and Achilles tendon rupture. Clin Infect Dis. 2022; ciac709. Epub ahead of print September 6, 2022. Relevance: Systemic quinolones have been known to increase the risk of tendon rupture. Prior …

Don’t Let the Tripledemic Distract You (or Patients) from ‘Typical’ Preventable Infectious Diseases

<strong>Don’t Let the Tripledemic Distract You (or Patients) from ‘Typical’ Preventable Infectious Diseases</strong>

The seemingly endless, start-and-stop recovery from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and fluctuating reports of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus rates can suck up a lot of attention in mainstream and medical media—so much so that efforts to prevent other infectious diseases can slide under the radar. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has continued to do its work as usual. ACIP adopted the following standards at …

Multiple Drug Shortages Continue—and the Prospects for Timely Resolution Are Not Good

<strong>Multiple Drug Shortages Continue—and the Prospects for Timely Resolution Are Not Good</strong>

Tamiflu is the latest medication to be reported in short supply where levels of influenza continue to be high across the United States, according to new information from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. ASHP says 21 oseltamivir presentations are in short supply, with most of the eight manufacturers involved reporting no resupply date. The report notes that some pharmacists have started compounding some medications in response. JUCM News has reported previously on the ongoing …

Tripledemic Update: Watch Out for More COVID—Thanks to a New Variant—as Flu and RSV Recede

<strong>Tripledemic Update: Watch Out for More COVID—Thanks to a New Variant—as Flu and RSV Recede</strong>

The fall and winter months have seen nearly constantly fluctuations in rates of COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza. Reports from around the country show this is unlikely to change anytime soon. WKRC TV aired a story noting that while flu and RSV have been declining in the Cincinnati area, COVID has had a resurgence that is pushing an ever-growing number of patients to not only area hospitals, but also urgent care centers. Data from …

Warnings of a Seasonal Bump in Respiratory Infections Are Coming to Fruition—with More to Follow

<strong>Warnings of a Seasonal Bump in Respiratory Infections Are Coming to Fruition—with More to Follow</strong>

As JUCM News readers know, public health officials and infectious disease specialists warned that holiday gatherings would likely prove to be fertile breeding grounds for COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza. Just a couple of days into the new year, Alabama is the first state to announce that hospitalizations for COVID-19 started climbing shortly after Thanksgiving, to the point that they had essentially doubled (from 264 to 530) by New Year’s Day. Given that the …

2023 Trends for Urgent Care

2023 Trends for Urgent Care

Urgent Message: Five trends will drive urgent care strategy in 2023, including its continued response to COVID-19, building bridges with the pediatric community, integration of urgent and primary care, integration of specialist services, and increased operational efficiency in response to staffing challenges. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is President of Experity Consulting and is Practice Management Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. As we embark upon 2023, year of the “rabbit” in the …

Be Prepared—Holiday Gatherings Are Likely to Beget a Deluge of Viral Infections (and More)

<strong>Be Prepared—Holiday Gatherings Are Likely to Beget a Deluge of Viral Infections (and More)</strong>

Health systems expect to see sharp increases in patients presenting with symptoms of multiple respiratory infections in the coming days and weeks. Experts interviewed for a report on CNN   suggest that hospitals already straining to keep up with rates of respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2 could be hit with a wave of patients newly infected after gathering with family and friends over the winter holidays. Ben Leach, a spokesperson for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia …

There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays—and Spreading Infectious Disease

<strong>There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays—and Spreading Infectious Disease</strong>

The good news on the tripledemic front as Christmas and New Year celebrations approach, according to multiple mainstream media and health department sources, is that new cases of respiratory syncytial virus and influenza have probably peaked. The correlating less-rosy news, as reported by Becker’s Hospital Review, is that packing large groups of people into inside spaces over the next week is likely to reverse the trend in pretty short order. The same goes for the …

Update: With COVID and Flu Catching Up to RSV, Is It Time to Bring the Masks Out Again?

<strong>Update: With COVID and Flu Catching Up to RSV, Is It Time to Bring the Masks Out Again?</strong>

Just last week we reported that the national influenza profile in the United States was worse than it’s been in a decade—and the situation has only deteriorated since then, with even more states reporting either “high” or “very high” flu activity. At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says incidence of COVID-19 jumped 50% in a single week, from 300,000 cases confirmed at the end of November to 460,000 in the …