Practice Management
Just the other day we shared data indicating that healthcare professionals are far less inclined to get a flu shot if their workplace doesn’t require it or offer the immunizations on site. Now comes word from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the whole country’s influenza vaccination rate has plateaued—leaving us all at higher risk for an outbreak. New figures from the CDC reveal that since the 2013-2014 season, the rate for adults …
Read More
Despite longstanding advice that people over the age of 6 months should be vaccinated against influenza, more than half of healthcare professionals (HCPs) opt out unless they’re required to get a shot by their employers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 75% of HCPs got a flu shot in preparation for the 2016-2017 flu season—but in clinics and other settings where vaccination was not “required, promoted, or offered on site,” …
Read More
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling for a “renewed commitment from all players” to fight sharp increases in sexually transmitted diseases. In the past year alone, more than 2 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis were reported in the U.S. While 1.6 million of those cases were chlamydia, there were 470,000 cases of gonorrhea and nearly 28,000 cases of primary and secondary syphilis. Calling STDs “a growing threat,” the agency stressed …
Read More
This should be prime time for recommending flu shots to patients, ideally offering to give one on the spot if medically appropriate for the patient’s condition at the time of service. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone 6 months of age or older receive an influenza vaccine every year, preferably by the end of October. Just as important from an administrative (and legal) perspective is remembering to provide an official Vaccine Information …
Read More
U.S. emergency rooms saw more patients than ever in 2014, but that doesn’t necessarily mean urgent care isn’t getting its message out. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that over 141 million people ran to the ED that year (compared with 130 million the previous year), but some top reasons tended to be complaints for which it would not be appropriate to visit an urgent care center—chest pain chief among …
Read More
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 …
Read MoreThe 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 …
Read More
The 40th annual report on the state of the health of Americans from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides insights on the impact of changes in the healthcare landscape, including the years that saw urgent care grow from the “doc in a box” (in the public’s perception, anyway) to the sophisticated, integral part of the healthcare system that it is recognized as today. The CDC’s Health, United States, 2016 reports on long-term trends …
Read More
Rising rates of antibiotic resistance in general have been discussed extensively. What has not been addressed as specifically is the growing number of cases of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted diseases. Data that show condom use is declining makes this trend even more alarming, the World Health Organization warns. Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacteria that causes the STD, in particular, has become prone to developing resistance to the drugs used to treat it, according to …
Read More
The 2016–2017 flu season is far enough behind us that health system numbers crunchers can assess how well the vaccine performed—and it’s definitely a mixed bag. While it was a good match for the predominant strain (Type A H3N2) and was around 42% effective in preventing illness severe enough to send patients to the doctor’s office, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention admits that it was essentially ineffective in protecting people age 65 and …
Read More