Take a look at this article to learn more about how to find the perfect Urgent Care Clinic for you!
             "5 things to look for in an Urgent Care Clinic"

Check out the new and improved Find Urgent Care website! Patients can now search for an urgent care using advanced search criteria such as: location, insurance plans that the clinic accepts, services the clinic offers, and additional specialty features.

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Abuse of Prescriptions Meds Now Sending as Many People to the ER as Illicit Drugs

A recent report by the CDC has found that for the first time, visits to the Emergency Room for misuse and abuse of prescription drugs is equal to visits for the use of illicit drugs. The figures which are supplied by the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) show that in 2004 an estimated 1.6 million visits were made to the ER for drug related issues. One million of those visits were related to illicit drugs. In 2008 the ED received 2.0 million visits. Of those 2.0 million visits half were related to illicit drugs and the remaining 1.0 million where related to prescription drugs. That means prescriptions drugs have become just as damaging as illicit drugs. The vast majority of the ED cases involved opioids or benzodiazepines based medicines. (CDC report can be located here http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5923a1.htm?s_cid=mm5923a1_w) If numbers are increasing at such substantial levels in emergency rooms across the country I believe it is safe to assume we are seeing the same increases in our Urgent Care Facilities.

Most doctor’s are trained to recognize signs of drug abuse. However, the average person doesn’t always know what to look for. According to the http://www.helpguilde.org/ the following signs can often be observed in addicts:

Physical warning signs of drug abuse

• Bloodshot eyes or pupils that are larger or smaller than usual.
• Changes in appetite or sleep patterns.
• Sudden weight loss or weight gain.
• Deterioration of physical appearance and personal grooming habits.
• Unusual smells on breath, body, or clothing.
• Tremors, slurred speech, or impaired coordination.

Behavioral signs of drug abuse

• Drop in attendance and performance at work or school.
• Unexplained need for money or financial problems. May borrow or steal to get it.
• Engaging in secretive or suspicious behaviors.
• Sudden change in friends, favorite hangouts, and hobbies.
• Frequently getting into trouble (fights, accidents, illegal activities).

Psychological warning signs of drug abuse

• Unexplained change in personality or attitude.
• Sudden mood swings, irritability, or angry outbursts.
• Periods of unusual hyperactivity, agitation, or giddiness.
• Lack of motivation; appears lethargic or “spaced out.”
• Appears fearful, anxious, or paranoid, with no reason.
  http://helpguide.org/mental/drug_substance_abuse_addiction_signs_effects_treatment.htm

If you begin to notice any of these symptoms in those close to you seek immediate help for your friends or family. Personally, I’d rather avoid a trip to the emergency room or urgent care center and get immediate treatment before things spiral out of control.

DOH! Don't forget to include screening for the H1N1 Swine Flu in your marketing!

Has your urgent care center adapted your range of services to provide for the needs of the community in screening for the H1N1 Swine Flu virus? As I know most of you have, the next most obvious question from a marketing perspective is, have you included this in your marketing? If not, don't feel too bad, we recently realized even after all the hype, we still hadn't optimized our website to include screening for the virus as a common treatment for urgent care centers nationwide. However, as of this week, you can now find the "H1N1 Swine Flu Screening" right on our front page as a common service offered by you guys! Why did we feel the need to post this? Because patients in your area are Google-ing where to find a clinic that offers this service and if it is not posted on FindUrgentCare.com, we are missing out on a whole population of patients searching for This service. Correspondingly, if you do not have these keywords on your primary website or your FindUrgentCare.com hosted webpage, search engines will list your clinic in search results for urgent care centers that offer this service.

Not only is it important that you update your website, but start to include screening for the virus in all of your marketing. You want to be the first place people think of when they have the urgent need for this type of testing and/or treatment.

Also FYI, as a resource to you, the Urgent Care Association of America has adapted their website with updates about screening for and treating the H1N1 Swine Flu virus in your walk-in center are now available. This includes an announcement about how to obtain the Tamiflu vaccine free from the govt. for vaccinating in your clinic. Click here for more details from the UCAOA.

FindUrgentCare discounts monthly membership for UCAOA members!

The UCAOA put together a member benefit program, similar to our FindUrgentCare Partners Network, where members receive discounts from select vendors who offer products and services to the urgent care community. FindUrgentCare is among many others, and is offering exclusive discounts to UCAOA Members. Not only are UCAOA Members elligible to receive a 30 Day Free Trial on www.findurgentcare.com, but they are also elligible to receive an additional 10% off monthly membership. Click here to view the complete list of vendors featured in the UCAOA Member benefits.

FindUrgentCare is on Facebook!!

Yes we gave in =) And we are encouraging all of our members and urgent care centers nationwide to join too! You might be thinking, "I don't want to get sucked into the vacuum of this social media trend" but there is a reason everyone is doing it right now! 1) it is free, 2) It is fun!, 3) AND, it is a great way to get your name out and blast updates to your community! 4) Not to mention it is great to have your website linked as many places as possible- for search engine optimization purposes- especially high traffic, relevent sites like Facebook!

I had a ton of friends who were creating pages for their business and I honestly did not know what they were involved in before they created these pages! Some of them really good friends too. So even if you have to guilt your friends to link to your site- I highly recommend it!

Jump on the bandwagon! And request FindUrgentCare as a friend when you do =)

www.FindUrgentCare.com on Facebook