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OPINION PIECE by Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc, President of Urgent Care Consultants and Senior Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. I’ve recently become aware of “dealmakers” pitching large future payouts for urgent care practices, but only if you agree to sell your practice now. If you’ve received one of these solicitations, it’s important to understand the implications: No Cash Up Front: The biggest red flag is when the urgent care seller does not receive cash in a transaction. Instead, you exchange your practice for a stake in …
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Bradley L. Laymon, PA-C, CPC, CEMC PRESENTATION A mother brings in her 4-year-old, who has never visited your urgent care center before, with complaints of fever and sore throat. The mother provides the HPI. She explains that the child’s symptoms have been present for 2 days. During that time, the patient’s temperature rose to a high of 101.5°F (38.6°C). Ibuprofen has been effective in reducing the fever. The girl was exposed to COVID-19 at daycare 3 days ago. The mother reports no other complaints. The child has no known allergies …
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Bradley L. Laymon, PA-C, CPC, CEMC PRESENTATION A 47-year-old established male patient presented after 2 days of COVID-like symptoms (fever >100.5°F, cough, headache). Symptoms were mild and constant. He denied chest pain, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, rash, dizziness, and nausea/vomiting/diarrhea. He reported trying to alleviate the symptoms with acetaminophen and guaifenesin, with minimal relief. He has no known allergies The patient, who had never tested positive for COVID-19, acknowledged recent exposure to a colleague who did. At the time of presentation it had been less than 2 weeks since …
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X-rays are high on the list of services patients expect urgent care centers to provide when needed. Currently, however, a dearth of qualified technicians can make guaranteeing that they can do so somewhat challenging. The November issue of JUCM will start an in-depth discussion of how the industry can best approach meeting that challenge for the benefit of the patient and the individual operator. One essential part of that discussion will be answering the question of who, exactly, can perform x-rays in the urgent care center. Qualifications aside, the answer …
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Urgent message: Parallel lacerations or those that simply occur in close proximity pose a unique challenge for the urgent care clinician. Repairing either wound without inflicting further trauma on the other(s) requires both skill and familiarity with performing the appropriate technique. Patrick O’Malley, MD The Problem Lacerations in close proximity pose a unique challenge for the urgent care clinician. This situation is often encountered in the unfortunate setting of patients engaged in “cutting” behaviors. Narrow spans of tissue (tissue bridges) between lacerations have a limited blood supply. During repair, these …
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