Practice Management
Mercy Health in northern Ohio has announced plans to expand its network of urgent care centers in the region, according to the Toledo Blade. As part of this expansion, the health system has acquired 10 urgent care centers from privately owned Greater Midwest Urgent Cares. Eight centers are located in Ohio and 2 in southeast Michigan. Officials stated that Mercy aims to invest in new tech infrastructure and medical equipment, and exterior signage will also …
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The final respiratory illness data for the last week of 2024 (ending December 28) show that influenza is trending ahead of both COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus among children and adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with a hospitalization rate of 4.3 per 100,000. Flu’s positivity rate was up 18.7% over the previous week, and the overall percentage of emergency department visits with a discharge diagnosis of influenza was 5.2%—compared to …
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A new at-home urgent care (UC) provider, Urgent Care On The Go, launched in late December 2024 in half a dozen cities in southern Louisiana, offering mobile urgent care as well as a brick-and-mortar wellness center in Opelousas, Louisiana. For a single fee of $199 per visit, members can access treatment for acute illnesses and injuries as well as lab tests and other services. Some services, such as IV infusions for medically diagnosed conditions, are …
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Ardent Health, which operates 30 acute care hospitals in 6 states, last week acquired 18 urgent care clinics from NextCare Urgent Care. NextCare is in the Enhanced Healthcare Partners investment portfolio and up until now included approximately 170 clinic locations, according to a 2024 JUCM analysis. The transaction includes 6 urgent care clinics in New Mexico, which will operate as part of Lovelace Health System, as well as 12 clinics in Oklahoma that will become …
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Cases of norovirus are surging in some parts of the United States, with 91 outbreaks as of early December 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Norovirus is often transmitted through fresh food or water, and long-term care facilities, childcare centers, and cruise ships tend to be the most common settings of outbreaks. The most common symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and stomach pain. Each year, there are about 2,500 reported …
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Virtual appointments may not be the ideal channel for leveraging the Centor Criteria for tonsillitis, which calls for a clinician to check a patient for fever as well as tender and swollen lymph nodes. A cross-sectional study of 189 patients published in Infectious Diseases, analyzed digital assessments in comparison to physical examinations when used to determine clinical recommendations for treatment of tonsillitis. The study included 3 urgent care clinics and 6 primary care practices in …
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The effectiveness of the seasonal influenza vaccine for kids was more than 55% during the respiratory virus seasons from November 2015 to April 2020, according to a study in JAMA Network Open. The 15,728 US children ages 6 months to 17 years who were studied realized protection against emergency department (ED) visits or hospitalization with at least 1 dose of the vaccine. No difference in estimated effectiveness was observed based on varying levels of flu …
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Americans have given the US healthcare system a record-low quality rating, while 70% of respondents in a national survey also believe that the healthcare system at large has major problems or is in a state of crisis, according to a recent Gallup poll of more than 1,000 adults. Sentiment is now at its lowest point since the polling organization began monitoring opinions on the topic in 2001. The percentage of those who say the quality …
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Researchers found that more than 68% of patients in primary care settings with negative chest x-rays were prescribed antibiotics for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Two-hundred fifty-nine adults in France with clinically suspected CAP received chest radiography (CR) as part of their evaluations, and 144 (55.6%) had a positive result, according to the study presented in the Annals of Family Medicine. Patients with positive CR had more severe and longer-lasting symptoms—including higher body temperature, faster heart rate, …
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The percentage of emergency department (ED) visits that included influenza testing increased from 2.5% in 2013 to 10.9% in 2022, according to a new data brief from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ED visits for children ages 0–5 years had the highest percentage of tests ordered both in 2013 data (8.6%) and 2022 data (23.1%). Among ED visits by adults, the percentage with an influenza test increased from 1.9% to 9.1% for patients …
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