Urgent care clinics are inappropriately prescribing pills, research shows
A study analyzing over 22 million urgent care visits between 2018 and 2022 found millions of prescriptions for these drugs, with a substantial number deemed inappropriate for the patients' diagnoses.
Specific instances of inappropriate prescribing included 46 percent of patients with urinary symptoms receiving unnecessary antibiotics and 41 percent of bronchitis patients getting inappropriate glucocorticoids.
Researchers suggest that factors contributing to this issue include clinicians' knowledge gaps, patient demand, and a lack of comprehensive information systems to support prescribing decisions.
Proposed solutions to mitigate inappropriate prescribing involve implementing drug stewardship programs, utilizing electronic health records more effectively, and providing further medication education for healthcare providers.
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Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Doctors dismissed my symptoms as a sinus infection... a year later I found out I had a deadly brain tumor
Long before becoming a patient, Ilene Sue Ruhoy was a prominent neurologist in Seattle, accustomed to treating disease. She had been practicing for a decade when, in 2014, she noticed mounting fatigue, dizziness, nausea, migraines, and irritability that various doctors chalked up to stress, a hormone imbalance, and a sinus infection. None of them, she felt, truly listened or took her symptoms seriously. In August 2015, after a year of asking doctors to order her an MRI, one of them finally listened, and what appeared on the scan changed the course of her life entirely. At the emergency room, doctors informed her that she had a tumor called a meningioma the size of an apple pressing on the left side of her brain so forcefully that both hemispheres were being pushed to the right side of her skull. While not classified as cancer, meningiomas can be deadly if complications arise, boasting a mortality rate of anywhere from 63 to 90 percent. 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'I remember that moment when she just agreed and I almost hugged her. I didn't, I should have, but I was just so grateful, and I will always be grateful.' Ruhoy still does not know definitively what caused her own tumor. She said: 'I have a PhD in environmental toxicology, so I've thought long and hard about this; what exposures have I had in my life, what infections have I had in my life. 'Once I was diagnosed, I underwent a big workup, led by myself, to try to answer that exact question, and I really came up with nothing. We don't really know what causes these tumors.' Inspired by her own journey, Ruhoy would come to specialize in complex post-exposure illnesses (PEIs), such as long Covid and chronic fatigue syndrome. 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Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Medical group urges Kennedy not to fire US care task force
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The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Wanna get away? Sorry, there's no destination safe from seasonal allergies
There's no escape from it — pollen is in every U.S. state, ready to torment your nostrils. The seeds rain down from the trees in a strange yellow haze and ascends to the skies from the flowers and grasses. Even if you could easily pack up and move, nowhere is safe to avoid the dreaded, sniffling effects of seasonal allergies. 'It's a little bit like playing Russian Roulette,' Hannah Jaffee, the director of research at the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, told The Independent. 'If you already have allergies, you can be exposed to an entirely different set of allergens if you relocate.' 'Worst case scenario: you may live in a place and either not have allergy symptoms or have mild allergy symptoms. Then, you move somewhere else and start developing significant symptoms,' she added. Everyone is going to respond differently to a new location. 'If you already have allergies, you can be exposed to an entirely different set of allergens if you relocate. So, you might be trading some symptoms for others.' 'And then, in some cases, your symptoms might improve by relocating,' Jaffee said. More than 100 million Americans live with various types of allergies and over 81 million have seasonal pollen allergies. Some are genetically predisposed to develop allergies, which can factor into what they're allergic to and potentially how severe their symptoms would be. Many people develop allergies as they age and their immune system weakens. Seasonal allergies, which are also commonly known as 'allergic rhinitis' or hay fever, occur when people are exposed to pollen. The inflammatory response can cause sneezing, congestion, a runny nose, or red, watery, and itchy eyes. For people with asthma, it can lead to an asthma attack. For tens of thousands of people, it may even result in a trip to the emergency room. The severity of allergy symptoms also depends on where you live. There are three main types of pollen, including tree, grass, and weed. This year, the highest tree pollen levels were forecast across a wide swath stretching from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeast. The highest weed pollen levels were expected around the Plains states, the Carolinas, and along the Gulf Coast. The foundation also released what it named the nation's top 10 cities for seasonal allergies, with most located in the South and Southeast. Historically, the worst cities are in those regions, Jaffee noted. 'That's because these are climates that tend to be more humid and warmer, so they kind of favor that growth of pollen and mold,' she explained. Wichita, Kansas, led the rankings as the worst city for allergy sufferers. 'Since allergies are so different for everyone, you can thrive in the Southeast part of the U.S. and not have any allergies or still experience significant allergy symptoms elsewhere,' Jaffee said. 'It's kind of a mixed bag.' So, what do you do if you are moving — or want to? Generally, experts recommend that you visit the location for about two to four weeks ahead of time to get a sense of how your body responds, or to visit during different seasons. Talking to an allergist will also be useful for more personalized recommendations. Still, pollen seasons are getting longer and stronger for everyone. Human-caused climate change is resulting in earlier seasons, as well, with warmer temperature trapping heat around urban areas, increasing air pollution, and stimulating pollen production. The amount of pollen released by trees is higher and the strength of the allergic response to the tree pollen appears to be stronger. 'There's no question [that] as there's global warming, the pollen season is increasing,' Dr, Sanjiv Sur, director and professor of Allergy and Immunology at Baylor College of Medicine, said earlier this year. What may help ease the pain, if only for right now? Dr. Neelu Tummala, a clinical assistant professor of otolaryngology at NYU Langone Health, advises that people time taking medications so they are optimally effective, change clothes and take off shoes after spending time outside, and bathe pets. Jaffee recommends a pollen tracking app, in addition to personalized allergy testing. But, ultimately, there needs to be a wider response. 'Long-term, we should be looking at policy change to reduce the impact of climate change,' said the foundation's chief mission officer Melanie Carver.
