Practice Management
A new analysis conducted by the Yale School of Public Health and a global communications firm suggests that today’s vaccine hesitancy is not simply a rejection of healthcare professionals or scientific evidence. Among people surveyed who would not give their children vaccines or would only give their children only some of the recommended vaccines, personal experience was the leading influence on how the parents arrived at their vaccine views, according to the 2026 Edelman Trust …
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A small study presented at the 44th Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons this week found high rates of eyelid and ocular surface issues among young women who regularly used eyelash extensions (semipermanent fibers glued individually to natural eyelashes for cosmetic enhancement). Among survey participants who had received extensions at least 10 times, 85% showed signs of meibomian gland dysfunction. Nearly half (47.6%) of women who had extensions reported discomfort, redness, …
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A large cross-sectional study published this month in JAMA Network Open found that extreme heat was associated with small, short-term reductions in blood pressure among adults receiving outpatient care. The analysis included 2,554 community health centers across 40 states, examining more than 4.2 million summer encounters from 2019–2023. On days of extreme heat, patients’ recorded adjusted systolic blood pressure was 0.7 mm Hg lower and diastolic blood pressure was 0.3 mm Hg lower than the …
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The Urgent Care Association (UCA) and Experity are partnering to co-present the Limelight Award for Staff Excellence. Created to honor an exceptional frontline professional whose contributions represent the very best of urgent care, this Limelight Award is more than a recognition. It is an industry honor presented by the top leadership organizations deeply invested in the people, progress, and future of urgent care. Nominations highlight frontline professionals as the individuals who go above and beyond …
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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a new document that provides guidance on congenital measles, including its definition, clinical presentation, evaluation and management, infection control, long-term follow-up, and prevention. Organized with frequently asked questions, the document was developed in response to ongoing measles outbreaks and the potential for congenital measles cases in the United States, according to AAP. The clinical information is important because presentations of congenital measles infection are highly variable, ranging from …
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Recently, the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) released the first guidelines on management and treatment of complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs). The evidence-based guidelines include practical advice for clinicians who manage patients with cUTIs in outpatient settings. For example, clinicians can view the UTI and cUTI classifications intended to guide treatment (not diagnosis) as well as recommendations on the selection and duration of definitive antibiotic therapy for cUTI. UTI is common: IDSA notes that …
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Several states are experiencing a combination of unique human-and-wildlife encounters and highly publicized events involving potential rabies exposures from those animals. In Michigan, for example, statewide reporting confirmed positive tests for 47 rabid bats and 1 rabid skunk through September 3—mostly related to animals that were found in family homes. Recently, an urgent care in Traverse City, Michigan, has started offering post-exposure rabies treatment to improve access to care and help patients avoid the emergency …
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Inhalants and their health effects deserve more study, according to a new analysis. Leveraging federal health data, researchers found that among 33,771 U.S. adolescents aged 12–17 years, 2.2% of them reported using inhalants such as aerosol sprays and nitrous oxide in the past year, as published in Preventive Medicine. The inhalants are often used recreationally for their euphoria effects, leading to accidental poisonings and overdoses. With these new estimates of inhalant use, the authors conclude …
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Some respiratory viral infections can be followed by weeks of persistent respiratory, cardiovascular, and functional symptoms, according to an analysis published in Respirology. The review, which included 13 studies involving 631,863 participants, found that influenza had the strongest evidence for long-term effects. In one cohort, 23% of adults reported persistent symptoms 12 weeks after influenza, while a separate claims study found 10% of patients remained symptomatic at 6 months. Postacute complications varied by virus, and …
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Massachusetts implemented a sweeping healthcare policy in 2009, becoming the first state to ban routine ambulance diversion—meaning that hospitals could no longer divert patients away from busy emergency departments (EDs) and send them to another hospital simply due to overcrowding. Beginning this month, Indiana has adopted a similar measure to eliminate hospital ED diversion. In practice it means hospitals have to be operationally capable of addressing throughput, staffing, and overall capacity no matter what comes …
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