Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Unproven Lyme Disease Treatments Pose Potentially Dangerous Appeal to Patients

Many states with a high prevalence of Lyme disease are home to non-traditional clinics that often provide unproven treatments, potentially creating significant health and safety risks. Researchers examined treatments offered on the websites of 117 independent clinics across 14 high-prevalence states between February 2024 and April 2024, finding that less than half (53 clinics) had an MD or DO physician on staff, as published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. Approximately 20% employed a naturopathic doctor, …

Catapult Health Deal Paves More Inroads For Teladoc

Teladoc Health has agreed to acquire virtual preventive care provider Catapult Health for $65 million, including an additional $5 million in potential earnout payments, according to a press release. Originally launched as an on-site health checkup service for employers, Catapult shifted to virtual care in 2020, offering at-home diagnostic kits for blood tests, blood pressure readings, and other health and wellness screenings. The company serves hundreds of employers and reaches more than 3 million individuals. …

HCA Breaking Ground on 3 Freestanding ED Centers in Florida

HCA Healthcare this week announced plans to build 3 new freestanding emergency departments (EDs) across western Florida this year, according to a company press release. Officials say that recent population growth has inspired the need for more emergency care. HCA operates 17 hospitals in the region and a total of 186 hospitals across the United States and the United Kingdom. New EDs could draw business away from urgent care centers, so local operators have an …

Montefiore Joins the List of One Medical Partners

Montefiore Health System is now the latest partner to hook its wagon to Amazon One Medical. In 2026, the health system will host the first One Medical brick-and-mortar primary care offices in New York’s Westchester County, according to a press release. With the affiliation, One Medical can refer patients to Montefiore for follow-up or additional health services. Montefiore and One Medical plan to open additional new facilities over the next several years as well. Some …

Retailer Apps Hope to Snag Patients From the Start

CVS Health recently launched a re-engineered smartphone app that hopes to make the consumer experience better, according to the Wall Street Journal. It includes prescription refill ordering by scanning a prescription package barcode and tools that offer more prescription price transparency. It also has a feature for scheduling appointments at MinuteClinics, video visits with a provider, and checking insurance coverage. Customer reward points and benefits are streamlined in the new CVS app interface. Also just …

ZoomCare Expands to Meet Medicare Market Opportunity

After a pilot project at 2 of its locations, ZoomCare—which offers urgent care, primary care, emergency, and specialty care—has started accepting Medicare and Medicare Advantage patients across its entire network of 45 centers in Oregon and Washington, according to a press release. ZoomCare initially started with 1 urgent care location in 2006 targeting Millennials, and by 2018, the original founders had sold the organization to the local Catholic health system PeaceHealth. A large part of …

Maryland Commission Aims to Reduce ED Wait Times

After concerns about claiming the top spot for the country’s longest emergency department (ED) wait times, Maryland established the Maryland Emergency Department Wait Time Reduction Commission in July 2024 to craft long-term solutions that could be rolled out sooner rather than later. Among the commission’s early recommendations released this week is a plan to reduce hospital capacities by improving efficiency in addressing the needs of older populations with chronic health conditions and those with behavioral …

Optum Execs Less Focused on Urgent Care Centers

Optum Health is continuing to ease back on its MedExpress urgent care line of business. There are only 19 centers that remain open, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune, which is an 87% decrease from the 150 locations operating in 2022. Parent company UnitedHealth Group’s executives in a recent call with investors said that some parts of the Optum business aren’t as important for the future as they once were. There is less emphasis now …

American Family Care Names New CEO

This month, Jeremy Morgan was named chief executive oﬃcer of American Family Care (AFC), succeeding Randy Johansen, who has retired. Morgan is the former CEO of a national franchisor organization with 5 brands that grew to nearly 900 locations and $700 million in revenue during his tenure. Additionally, David Prokupek was named to the AFC board of directors as executive chairman. His experience includes previous CEO positions with Ideal Image, Jackson Hewitt, and Smashburger. Outgoing …

Teladoc The Latest Virtual Provider to Partner With Amazon

Amazon customers will now be prompted to sign up for Teladoc’s chronic care offerings thanks to a new partnership announced this week between the 2 organizations. Teladoc already has 1 million program participants, and the connection to Amazon will only boost its visibility and market presence. Anyone managing diabetes, hypertension, prediabetes and weight loss can now enroll in virtual care directly through Amazon’s Health Benefits Connector. Just like its agreement with Hinge Health, Talkspace, and …