Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Practice Management

 

Urgent Care News

Dedicated EHR Time Reduces After-Hours Work

Dedicated EHR Time Reduces After-Hours Work For Clinicians

A study of general internal medicine physicians from 2 ambulatory practice networks evaluated whether reserving …
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Maternal Syphilis Rises In Mississippi

Maternal Syphilis Rises More Than 1,000% In Mississippi

A retrospective analysis in JAMA Network Open examined trends in maternal syphilis infections in Mississippi …
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Oral GLP-1

Oral GLP-1 Medication Begins Production in US

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved semaglutide tablets as the first oral GLP-1 …
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Hospitals Embrace Generative AI

More Than Half of Hospitals Embrace Generative AI

A national survey of 2,174 U.S. acute care hospitals found growing uptake of generative artificial …
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Cancer Society Insights on HPV Self-Collection 

Cancer Society Outlines Its Insight on HPV Self-Collection 

The American Cancer Society has endorsed the use of self-collected vaginal samples for cervical cancer …
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Original Research 

Chart Closure Time in a Pediatric Urgent Care

Improving Chart Closure Time in a Pediatric Urgent Care Setting

Urgent Message: Quality improvement projects can increase the percentage of charts closed within 1 hour …
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Patient Portal Access in Urgent Care

Leveraging Physician-Patient Relationships to Increase Patient Portal Access During an Urgent Care Visit

Urgent Message: Urgent care physicians can leverage the physician-patient relationship established during a visit to …
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COVID-19 Antiviral Prescribing In Urgent Care

COVID-19 Antiviral Prescribing In Urgent Care By Patient Ethnicity

Urgent Message: This study confirms variable prescription rates among different ethnicities in Aotearoa, New Zealand, …
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Short Course Systemic Glucocorticoid Prescribing in Urgent Care Clinics

Analysis of Short Course Systemic Glucocorticoid Prescribing in Urgent and Convenient Care Clinics

Urgent Message: Across a tristate urgent care and convenient care network, systemic steroid use occurred …
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HIV Screening in the Urgent Care

Brief Report: PrEPare for Action – A Quality Improvement Project for Expanding HIV Screening in the Urgent Care Setting During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Citation: Hunt E, Greger M, Shipley N. Brief Report: PrEPare for Action – A Quality …
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Clinical 

Shortness of Breath in Pregnancy in Urgent Care

Shortness of Breath in Pregnancy: Differentiating Physiology from Pathology in Urgent Care

Urgent Message: As shortness of breath and edema are common in pregnancy, urgent care clinicians must distinguish patients with normal …
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Sexually Transmitted Infections in Urgent Care

United States Sexually Transmitted Infections: A Comprehensive Overview and Relevance To Urgent Care Centers

Urgent Message: Patients frequently utilize urgent care centers for testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. All clinicians can be …
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Postpartum Shortness of Breath

Postpartum Presentations: When Risk Arises After Delivery – Shortness of Breath

Urgent Message: Shortness of breath presentations for postpartum patients in urgent care should prompt consideration of venous thromboembolism or peripartum …
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Nerve Block for Headache

Blocking the Pain: Nerve Block in the Treatment of Headache in Urgent Care

Urgent Message: Although greater occipital nerve block has demonstrated positive effectiveness and few risks as a treatment for acute headache, …
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Practice Management 

IFU Limitations Matter in Urgent Care

Why IFU Limitations Matter in Urgent Care Lab Testing

Urgent Message: Urgent care teams can take practical steps to safeguard quality for Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-waived testing by …
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2026 ADA Mandate in Urgent Care

Is Your Urgent Care Ready for the 2026 ADA Mandate?

Urgent Message: Urgent care facilities must ensure their medical diagnostic equipment and staff training protocols meet new ADA accessibility standards …
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Generative AI Acceptable Use Policy in Urgent Care

The Case for a Generative AI Acceptable Use Policy in Urgent Care

Urgent Message: Banning generative artificial intelligence can create a culture of secretive use that presents potential risks for legal liability, …
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Standard of Care

What Does ‘Standard of Care’ Mean from a Legal Compliance Perspective?

Urgent Message: Urgent care centers are not required to deliver the “best possible care” but rather an “acceptable” level of …
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CASE REPORTS

Management of Acute Opioid Withdrawal

Management of Acute Opioid Withdrawal in a Patient With an Unknown Prescribing History: A Case Report

Urgent Message: Opioid prescribing in urgent care can present difficulties, particularly in patients with an unclear …
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Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis and Calf Pain

Chronic Calf Pain and Limp: A Case Report of Pediatric Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis

Urgent Message: Pediatric patients frequently present to urgent care with musculoskeletal complaints, but clinicians must remain …
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STEMI With Musculoskeletal Chest Pain

STEMI With Musculoskeletal Chest Pain: A Case Report

Urgent Message: Reproducible chest wall pain is often considered a symptom that indicates a musculoskeletal diagnosis …
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Worsening Otitis Media and Pediatric Leukemia

Worsening Otitis Media Despite Correct Treatment: A Case Report of Pediatric Leukemia

Urgent Message: Clinical worsening of typically treatable infections should trigger clinicians to dig deeper for possible …
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Cardiopulmonary Debut of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

A Rare Cardiopulmonary Debut of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Pediatric Case Report

Urgent Message: In adolescents presenting with persistent chest pain and systemic symptoms, clinicians should maintain a …
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Download Past Issues

January 2026: Interventions That Improve Rapid Chart Closure

VIEW ISSUES ARCHIVE

JUCM CAREER CENTER

CLINICAL IMAGE CHALLENGES

Elbow Pain Following a Fall

4-Year-Old Male With Elbow Pain Following a Fall from Monkey Bars

Figure 2. The Resolution Differential Diagnosis Supracondylar fracture Radial head subluxation Torus (buckle) fracture Salter-Harris fracture Diagnosis The correct diagnosis …
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Lichen Planus Pigmentosus in Urgent Care

53-Year-Old Woman With Dark Patchy Spots on Face and Neck

Differential Diagnosis Pellagra Pigmented contact dermatitis Lichen planus pigmentosus Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation Lichenoid drug eruption Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus Diagnosis The …
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Left Ventricular Aneurysm in Urgent Care

60-Year-Old With Prior Myocardial Infarction

Differential Diagnosis Anterior ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) Left ventricular aneurysm Pericarditis Myocarditis Brugada syndrome Diagnosis The diagnosis in this case …
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Blount’s disease

7-Year-Old With Knee Pain After Activity

Differential Diagnosis Rickets Blount’s disease Pathologic asymmetric growth Skeletal dysplasia Diagnosis The x-ray demonstrates a varus‑aligned tibial shaft with a …
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DVT in Urgent Care with POCUS

52-Year-Old With Calf Pain After Travel

Differential Diagnosis Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) Baker cyst Ruptured Baker cyst Muscle strain Superficial vein thrombosis Diagnosis POCUS reveals a …
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Revenue Cycle Management

Adding Primary Care to Urgent Care

Benefits of Adding Primary Care Services to Your Urgent Care

Phyllis Dobberstein, CPC, CPMA, CPCO, CEMC, CCC In the last few years, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) …
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Billing Integrity in Urgent Care

Billing Integrity in Urgent Care: How to Manage Risk

Phyllis Dobberstein, CPC, CPMA, CPCO, CEMC, CCC, is Revenue Integrity Manager at Experity. The financial and reputational health of an …
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Mastering Revenue Cycle Management

Mastering Revenue Cycle Management

Phyllis Dobberstein, CPC, CPMA, CPCO, CEMC, CCC Revenue cycle management (RCM) may not be the most glamorous part of urgent …
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ICD-10 Changes for Urgent Care

ICD-10 Changes Impacting Urgent Care in 2025

Tricia Krueger, CPC, is RCM Coding Supervisor for Experity. ICD-10 has been ever changing since it was first adopted 10 …
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Timely Filing

Timely Filing: What Every Practice Needs to Know

Nikki Benedict Timely filing is a critical concept in medical billing that directly impacts claim reimbursement. Despite its importance, the …
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DEVELOPING DATA

Commercial Reimbursement In Urgent Care

Commercial Reimbursement In Urgent Care

While examining 17,410,492 commercially insured visits in the Experity EMR from November 1, 2024, through October 31, 2025, we calculated …
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Urgent Care Testing For Chlamydia or Gonorrhea

Urgent Care Testing For Chlamydia and Gonorrhea

About three-quarters of urgent care centers test for C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae (CT/NG) infections either in-house or by sending …
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Scale of Orthopedic Urgent Care

The Scale of Orthopedic Urgent Care

As of August 12, 2025, there are 726 orthopedic urgent care (OUC) rooftops in the United States, according to National …
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credit card on file speeds collections

Credit Card on File Speeds Collections, Decreases Bad Debt

The credit-card-on-file practice requires a patient’s credit card at the time of service, which is used to cover balances after …
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Pediatric Populations Represent 29% of Urgent Care Patients

Pediatric Populations Represent 29% of Urgent Care Patients

Over the 12-month period ending June 15, 2025, 29% of urgent care patients were children and young adults aged 21 …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care

Abstracts in Urgent Care January 2026

Abstracts in Urgent Care – January 2026

Prevention of RSV Disease in Healthy Infants Take Home Point: In this early phase, drug-manufacturer-funded clinical trial, a single dose …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care December 2025

Abstracts in Urgent Care – December 2025

Causes, Management, and Outcomes of Diplopia in the ED Take Home Point: For diplopia, binocular diplopia was the most common …
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November 2025 Urgent Care Abstracts

Abstracts in Urgent Care – November 2025

Validation of Clinical Predictive Rules in Pediatric Testicular Torsion Take Home Point: In this study, the Testicular Emergency Score for …
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October 2025 Urgent Care Abstracts

Abstracts in Urgent Care – October 2025

Cannabis Use and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Adults Take Home Point: This study suggests that cannabis use has a strong, statistically …
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September 2025 Urgent Care Abstracts

Abstracts in Urgent Care – September 2025

Casting Rather Than Surgery for Medial Epicondyle Fractures in Children Take Home Point: In this randomized trial, treatment for pediatric …
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Training Our Teams to Meet the Needs of Our Patients

Countless times over the last year I have heard variations on a “we can’t” theme. It’s a specific and focused …
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Join Me and Contribute to JUCM

Join Me and Contribute to JUCM

It is an absolute honor and pleasure to serve as the new Editor In Chief of The Journal of Urgent …
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Urgent Care is HOLA

The Quality of Urgent Care Depends on our Commitment to HOLA Expertise

At least once a month, a friend or family member will text me—often for the first time in years—to share …
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UC Management of HDOD

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 …
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Health Data Obsessive Disorder

‘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 …
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