Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Practice Management

 

Urgent Care News

Norovirus Cases Surge Across The United States 

Cases of norovirus are surging in some parts of the United States, with 91 outbreaks …
Read More

Use Virtual Care for Tonsillitis Triage, Not Treatment

Virtual appointments may not be the ideal channel for leveraging the Centor Criteria for tonsillitis, …
Read More

Flu Vaccine More Than 55% Effective in Recent Years

The effectiveness of the seasonal influenza vaccine for kids was more than 55% during the …
Read More

Racial Bias May Influence Identification of Potential Child Abuse 

Most healthcare workers use vigilance when treating children with injuries that could signal a potential …
Read More

Severe H5N1 Avian Influenza Case Shows Mutations After Infection

In mid-December, a case of H5N1 (avian influenza) in Louisiana was reported as the first …
Read More

Original Research Articles

Comparing Outcomes for Outpatients Treated With Cephalexin for Uncomplicated Cystitis: Is QID Dosing Necessary?

Urgent Message: Patients commonly seek unscheduled care for urinary tract infections (UTIs). Cephalexin is among …
Read More

Systematic Rapid Review: Efficacy of Hematoma Blocks for Pediatric Forearm Fractures

Shomel Gauznabi, MBChB, FRNZCGP, FRACGP, FRNZCUC, MD; Ivan Koay, MBChB, MRCS, FRNZCUC, MD Urgent Message: …
Read More

Development of a Positive Urinalysis Criteria Using a Machine Learning Approach

Urgent Message: There are no consensus definitions for what defines a “positive” urinalysis in the …
Read More

Development and Implementation of a Headache and Migraine Pathway in Pediatric Urgent Care: A Quality Improvement Initiative

Urgent Message: There are an estimated 250,000 visits annually associated with pediatric headaches in the …
Read More

Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Chest Pain And Moderate Heart Risk Scores Who Were Referred For An Expedited Outpatient Cardiology Evaluation: A Multi-Center Descriptive Study

Urgent Message: Patients with a moderate-risk HEART score referred from an urgent care center for …
Read More

Clinical Articles

Diverticulitis Assessment in urgent Care

Urgent Care Assessment of Patients with Possible Diverticulitis

Urgent Message: Diverticulitis is a prevalent condition characterized by localized inflammation most commonly of the sigmoid colon. It is often …
Read More
Dyspnea in the Urgent Care

Dyspnea in the Urgent Care: Differentiating Benign From ‘Can’t Miss’

Urgent Message: Patients commonly present with respiratory symptoms in the urgent care setting and not infrequently complain of some degree …
Read More
Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma Feature Image

A Review of Genital Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma Infections for the Urgent Care Clinician

Urgent Message: Mycoplasma species, most notably Mycoplasma genitalium are an increasingly recognized etiology of persistent urethral discomfort and non-gonococcal urethritis …
Read More
Pelvic Pain

How Useful Is Ultrasound in Acute Female Pelvic Pain?

Andrew Alaya, MD, MSc Urgent Message: For time-sensitive diagnoses related to acute pelvic pain, ultrasound is generally the recommended initial …
Read More

Practice Management Articles

Reimagining Retail Pharmacy

Reimagining Retail Pharmacy as Major Chains Downsize Offerings

Urgent Message: As retail pharmacies reinvent themselves, urgent care has an opportunity to grow within the shifting market dynamic. Alan …
Read More
Rural Urgent Care Growth

Rural Urgent Care Growth Continues, But Challenges Remain

Urgent Message: Rural urgent care is the industry’s fastest growing segment, influenced by rural primary care shortages, hospital closures and …
Read More
Requests for Medical Records by Subpoena

How Should an Urgent Care Handle Requests for Medical Records by Subpoena?

Urgent Message: Urgent care centers need documented, consistent, and reportable processes for receiving, tracking, responding to, and collecting payment on …
Read More
ASD Services

ASD Services Fit With Existing UC Business Models

Urgent Message: Rapid growth in the autism spectrum disorder services (ASD) sector may present an expansion opportunity for urgent care …
Read More

Insights in Images Challenges

CASE REPORTS

A 2-Year-Old Girl With Respiratory Distress And Altered Mental Status: A Case Report

Urgent Message: While children presenting to urgent care centers usually have minor illnesses, attentiveness to vital …
Read More

Uncovering the Unexpected: A Case of Chronic Cough in an Adolescent with an Unusual Etiology

Urgent Message: Chronic cough has a distinct differential diagnosis in different age groups. A cough lasting …
Read More

Abdominal Pseudohernia and Urinary Retention Due to Spinal Nerve Root Compression From Disc Herniation: A Case Report

Urgent Message: Abdominal pseudohernia is a rare diagnosis with variable presentation. Urgent care clinicians who are …
Read More

Urinary Retention Caused by a Urethral Stone Diagnosed with Point-of-Care Ultrasound: A Case Report

Urgent Message: Urethral obstruction can occur due to impacted urinary calculi. This etiology should be considered …
Read More

Puffy Hand Syndrome: A Case Report

Urgent Message: Incorporating questions regarding the use of intravenous drugs may help ensure the diagnosis of …
Read More

HEALTH LAW

Changing an Employee from Full-Time to Part-Time Status

Urgent message: Whether due to reduced staffing needs or employee preference, some employees in urgent care …
Read More

Are Urgent Care Providers Liable if They Don’t Test Patients for COVID?

Click Here to download the PDF. Urgent message: As the severity of newer strains of SARS-CoV-2 …
Read More

Who Can Take X-Rays in an Urgent Care Center?

Urgent message: Given that x-ray is a differentiating feature of “urgent care” and the current challenges …
Read More

What Qualifies Someone to Take X-Rays in the Urgent Care Center? It All Depends on Where You’re Located

X-rays are high on the list of services patients expect urgent care centers to provide when …
Read More

Avoiding Defamation Lawsuits in Urgent Care

Urgent message: People are unlikely to trust their healthcare to a provider with a sullied reputation, …
Read More

JUCM CAREER CENTER

Download Past Issues

 

JUCM January 2025 Ortho Cover

January 2025: Finding the Fracture Shouldn’t Be the Focus: Clinical Priorities for Rib Injury After Blunt Chest Trauma

VIEW ISSUES ARCHIVE

CLINICAL CHALLENGES

16-Year-Old With Rash After Septoplasty

A 16-year-old girl presents to urgent care with complaints of fever, chills, and a diffuse sunburn-like rash that developed over …
Read More

27-Year-Old with History of Asthma

A 27-year-old female with history of asthma presents to urgent care on a Friday morning with dyspnea for 1 day …
Read More

29-Year-Old With Pain After Foot Inversion

A 29-year-old man presents to urgent care on a Saturday with pain in his left foot after playing tennis. A …
Read More

55-Year-Old With Wrist Pain

A 55-year-old woman presents to urgent care complaining of pain when she moves her right wrist. She reports the pain …
Read More

35-Year-Old With ESRD

A 35-year-old male with a history of end-stage-renal-disease (ESRD) presents to urgent care complaining of back pain. The patient missed …
Read More

OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE

Does Concentra’s New Acquisition Foreshadow a New Era for UC and Occ Med?

On the surface, it seems like the kind of event that has become commonplace in urgent care: A large, national …
Read More

Update: The COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Many Businesses Is Off—Again

Just when you thought you had clarity on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s mandate to vaccinate workers at businesses …
Read More

That Vaccine Mandate for Private Businesses That Was Called Off? It’s on Again—and the Clock Is Ticking

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s plan to require employers with 100 or more workers to institute a COVID-19 vaccine …
Read More

Your Occ Med Clients Need Your Support with the New COVID-19 ETS—Immediately

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration just issued an Emergency Temporary Standard intended to protect workers from getting infected with …
Read More

More People Are Trudging Off to Work on Site. Do You Know Who’s at Greatest Risk for COVID-19?

While some employers are content to maintain remote or hybrid work situations for their workers, either because of strong stances …
Read More

Revenue Cycle Management

What’s New in Telemedicine for 2025?

Phyllis Dobberstein, CPC, CPMA, CPCO, CEMC, CCC The American Medical Association (AMA) added a Telemedicine Services category to the Evaluation …
Read More

How ‘Data Reviewed’ Works When Coding E/M

Phyllis Dobberstein, CPC, CPMA, CPCO, CEMC, CCC Three elements determine the level for evaluation and management coding (E/M). “Amount and/or …
Read More

Look Ahead For RCM Success

We are deep into the fourth quarter of 2024, and you are probably preparing for the holidays and wrapping up …
Read More

ICD-10-CM: What’s New for 2025

Phyllis Dobberstein, CPC, CPMA, CPCO, CEMC, CCC We are heading into fall, and fall starts with updates to the ICD-10-CM …
Read More

When An Urgent Care Contracts as Primary Care

Over the past 2 decades, urgent care has been on the forefront of consumerism. Increasingly, healthcare consumers are realizing how …
Read More

DEVELOPING DATA

Provider Compensation Increasing Since 2022

By comparing 2022 and 2024 hourly compensation data from the Urgent Care Association (UCA) Clinician Compensation Benchmarking Report, data shows …
Read More

Laceration Repairs Decline in Urgent Care

The percentage of urgent care visits involving a laceration procedure increased slightly from 0.75% in 2023 to 0.76% year-to-date in …
Read More

Size and Ownership of U.S. Urgent Care Centers

As of September, 2024, there are a total of 14,245 urgent care centers in the United States, according to National …
Read More

Few Misused Rx Drugs Prescribed in Urgent Care

According to the United States Department of Justice, the most common prescription drugs that are misused fall into 1 of …
Read More

NPS Predicts Success in UC

The net promoter score (NPS) is a customer experience metric devised by business researcher Fred Reichheld, MBA, which measures how …
Read More

Abstracts in Urgent Care

Abstracts in Urgent Care – January 2025

Hematoma Blocks Effective for Closed Forearm Reduction Take Home Point: Hematoma blocks are an effective method of achieving analgesia to …
Read More

Abstracts in Urgent Care – December 2024

ECG Interpretation: Humans Vs Machines Take Home Point: In this study, cardiologists and emergency physicians (EP) had greater accuracy for …
Read More

Abstracts in Urgent Care – November 2024

Sophistication of ECG for Detection of Acute Coronary Syndromes Take Home Point: Cardiac electrical biomarker (CEB), a finding detectable on …
Read More

Abstracts in Urgent Care – October 2024

Public Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence Use in Healthcare Take Home Point: Patient and healthcare workers surveyed were generally accepting of …
Read More

Abstracts in Urgent Care – September 2024

Can Large Language Models Help in Assessing Acuity of Patients Presenting to ED? Take Home Point: Integration of large language …
Read More

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Managing Health Data Obsessive Disorder Presentation in Urgent Care

In a prior editorial, I described the case of Thomas, a young man among the “worried-well,” who presented to urgent …
Read More

‘Health Data Obsessive Disorder’—A Modern Epidemic

“Low blood sugar” was his chief complaint, but Thomas was in my urgent care (UC) mostly because he was feeling …
Read More

‘As Little as Necessary…’– A Mantra for Urgent Care

“Do as little as necessary, not as much as possible.” This is the mantra I recite throughout every urgent care …
Read More

Our Success in Urgent Care is Defined by How We Play Our ‘Greatest Hits’

Recently one evening, I meandered into a bar on iconic 6th Street in Austin, Texas— America’s epicenter for live music …
Read More

‘What Happens If We Do Nothing?’ Is Still the Right Question

Joshua Russell, MD, MSc, FACEP, FCUCM “It only hurts right here,” Rich told me, pointing to a tender spot on …
Read More