Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Urgent Care Weight Loss Programs Weakened By GLP-1 Costs

The demand for glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications for weight loss has surged, in part because there is a large population of patients who could potentially benefit from them. Meanwhile, advocates are concerned about the recent widespread distribution of compounded versions of the drugs. Since compounded versions often expect patients to measure doses from vials and use syringes for delivery—instead of premeasured autoinjector pens—compounded options can lead to dosing errors. But the advantage of compounded GLP1s …

Self-Collected Test Identifies 3 Sexually Transmitted Infections

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the Visby Medical Women’s Sexual Health Test, the first at-home test for diagnosing 3 sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in females: chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis. The hope is that the option will increase the use of testing and thus help prevent transmission of these STIs. No prescription is required, and the test can be used for those with or without symptoms. Each single-use test kit includes a self-collected …

New Oral Antibiotic for UTI May Help Address Drug Resistance

A new oral antibiotic, gepotidacin, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week for the treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs). According to the manufacturer, GSK plc, gepotidacin is a first-in-class antibiotic with a novel mechanism that inhibits bacterial DNA replication to treat female adults and pediatric patients (≥12 years, ≥40 kg) with uncomplicated UTIs. It’s designed to target several of the most common UTI-causing bacteria such as E. coli and …

Measles Outbreak Could Drag on For a Year: Forecast

The surging measles outbreak—now spanning 18 states as of March 20—may continue for about a year, according to health experts in a CNN report. Weekly totals reached 378 confirmed cases nationwide. By comparison, the 2024 total case count for the entire year was 285. Although 95% of the current cases are in patients who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status, a few were reported in people who say they had at least 1 dose …

First-Line Antibiotic Treatment For Chlamydia and Gonorrhea Underutilized

Too few patients are receiving recommended chlamydia and gonorrhea treatment in primary care settings, according to a study published in the Annals of Family Medicine analyzing electronic health records from 2018 to 2022. Among 6,678 confirmed chlamydia cases and 2,206 confirmed gonorrhea cases studied, 75.3% and 69.6%, respectively, received treatment. Treatment rates were higher among women than men (chlamydia: 78.4% vs 67.2%; gonorrhea: 78.9% vs 51.4%). Additionally, younger individuals and those with coinfections were more …

‘Med-tail’ Storefronts Complement Urgent Care Sites

In the latest iteration among floundering commercial retail spaces, landlords are courting healthcare tenants to fill empty storefronts that used to be occupied by department stores and boutiques. Most existing retail spaces have convenient neighborhood locations with enough local traffic to encourage a visit. According to a recent LA Times report, a network of dental offices in California has found early success with this emerging “med-tail” (medical retail) model, treating both scheduled and walk-in patients. …

Ohio X-Ray Regulations Shackle Urgent Care Growth

Most of the legislative issues that affect urgent care operations are governed at the state level, particularly provider scope-of-practice laws. A recent guest column in the Columbus Dispatch by Alan Ayers, MBA, MAcc, President of Urgent Care Consultants and Senior Editor of JUCM, makes the case for urgent care’s untapped potential in providing affordable access to care in rural areas. Kentucky and Indiana are witnessing growth in rural urgent care, but Ohio is lagging because …

One-Fourth of Patients Prescribed Rx Stimulants Misuse Them

A cross-sectional study recently published in JAMA Psychiatry sums up the prevalence of prescription stimulant use disorder (PSUD) among U.S. adults. Using national data, researchers found that 25.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 23.8%-26.8%) of adults using prescription stimulants reported misuse, and 9.0% (95% CI, 8.0%-10.0%) had PSUD as measured by DSM-5 criteria. Misuse and PSUD were significantly more prevalent among those prescribed amphetamines compared to methylphenidate. The study also identified demographic trends, with the largest …

What Helps Low Back Pain? Not Much.

Back pain seems to trouble a significant percentage of adults, inspiring some to seek medical treatment and options for pain relief. But a new study in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine suggests that most non-surgical interventions have little or no effect on acute or chronic low back pain. Researchers considered 10 treatments compared with placebo and found that in the 301 trials studied, 90% of treatments were not efficacious and are unlikely to be suitable treatment options …

Health Hasn’t Rebounded Since the Pandemic: Poll

Americans’ self-reported mental and physical health has declined over the past decade with a sharper drop after the COVID-19 pandemic. In Gallup’s latest survey, 75% of Americans rate their mental health as “excellent” or “good,” and 76% similarly rate their physical health in this way—down from highs of 89% for mental health in 2012 and 82% for physical health in 2003. The percentage of poll respondents rating their health with the top score of “excellent” …