Practice Management
A 60-year-old male with a past medical history of prior myocardial infarction (MI) is presenting with left-sided chest pain for 1 day. He reports nonadherence to his clopidogrel for 2 weeks after running out of his medications. View the ECG and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.
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Prevention of RSV Disease in Healthy Infants Take Home Point: In this early phase, drug-manufacturer-funded clinical trial, a single dose of clesrovimab reduced the incidence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-associated medically attended lower respiratory infection and RSV-associated hospitalization, with a safety profile similar to that of a placebo. Citation: Zar HJ, Simões E, Madhi S, et. al. Clesrovimab in Infants and Children at Increased Risk for Severe RSV Disease. New Eng J Med. 2025:393, 13;1292-1303. …
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Urgent Message: Opioid prescribing in urgent care can present difficulties, particularly in patients with an unclear prescription history where added caution is needed. There are a number of ways to reduce the risks associated with opioid prescribing and to initiate the treatment of opioid withdrawal in the urgent care setting. Jacob Mather, BSc MBChB Key Words: Addiction, Opioid Withdrawal, Prescribing, Urgent Care Abstract Introduction: We report a complex case of a 37-year-old woman presenting to …
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Urgent Message: Urgent care facilities must ensure their medical diagnostic equipment and staff training protocols meet new ADA accessibility standards by the July 8, 2026, deadline. Key Words: Americans with Disabilities Act; Medical Diagnostic Equipment; Accessible Exam Tables; Staff Training; Urgent Care Compliance Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Ensuring equal access to healthcare services isn’t just a goal, it’s a legal mandate. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)1 assures everyone has equal access to healthcare …
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While examining 17,410,492 commercially insured visits in the Experity EMR from November 1, 2024, through October 31, 2025, we calculated zero-balance net revenue per visit (NRV) for urgent care by state. NRV represents total payments from both patients and insurers when the claim is closed, and it includes evaluation/management and ancillary codes. Data include commercial plans and third‑party managed Medicaid and Medicare but exclude self-pay, workers’ compensation, employer-paid services, motor vehicle accidents, and traditional Medicare …
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Urgent Message: Urgent care physicians can leverage the physician-patient relationship established during a visit to improve patient portal enrollment and use in a healthcare system. Sandy Wang, MD, MPH; Carolyn Stern, MD; Kevin Fiscella, MD, MPH; Amaya Sanders, BS; Erik Herbert, BS; Rosie Booker, BS; Tyra Barton, LPN; Mechelle Sanders, PhD Key Words: Electronic Health Records, Patient Portals, Urgent Care, Quality Improvement Abstract Background: Patient portals for accessing electronic health records are useful for easy …
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Phyllis Dobberstein, CPC, CPMA, CPCO, CEMC, CCC In the last few years, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has accelerated its long-term effort to strengthen primary care as the foundation of the U.S. health system. Through new payment models, regulatory changes, and equity-driven initiatives, CMS aims to rebalance healthcare spending toward prevention, care coordination, and whole-person health. All these are areas historically underfunded compared to specialty or hospital care. Major policy changes have …
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As we begin a new year, I’m struck by both the resilience of the Urgent Care community and the urgency of the moment we’re in. Over the past several months, through conversations with operators, clinicians, vendors, and other partners, one message has been unmistakably clear: Urgent Care is ready to move forward together with renewed purpose, a stronger voice, and a sharper vision for the future. 2026 will be a pivotal year. The pressures facing …
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According to a survey of 1,015 adults released by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), fewer adults are receiving vaccines for respiratory viruses this year. The study was conducted in November 2025 to evaluate adults’ attitudes and behaviors regarding vaccination for influenza, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and pneumococcal disease in the United States. NFID found that 45% of respondents said they have received at least 1 respiratory vaccine since September 2025, with influenza …
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Recently, Abbott Diabetes Care posted an alert for a subset of its FreeStyle Libre 3 and Libre 3 Plus continuous glucose monitor (CGM) sensors. Internal testing revealed that some sensors manufactured on a single production line may provide inaccurate, low glucose readings—potentially leading patients to delay or skip necessary insulin doses. The alert affects approximately 3 million sensors in the United States; about half are estimated to have expired or already been used. Globally, Abbott …
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