Outpatient flu visits more than doubled in the 2017 holiday season

The number of patients who sought care for flu-like symptoms in the outpatient space more than doubled in late December, compared to the year prior, according to research from athenaInsight.

AthenaInsight analyzed more than 1 million outpatient visits nationwide between Dec. 24 and Dec. 30. Of these visits, 4.3 percent were coded for flu-like symptoms, compared to just 2.07 percent for 2016.

The CDC on Dec. 12 reported all 10 regions in the U.S. had outpatient flu-like illness levels at more than double the 2.2 percent national baseline. The flu is now widespread in 49 states, and 26 states are experiencing high flu-like illness activity.

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