Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Practice Management

 

Urgent Care News

Prescription Home Delivery Amps Up Among Major Retailers

In the midst of ongoing retail pharmacy store closures, Amazon is pushing ahead on same-day …
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RSV Vaccine Protection Wanes Quickly For Older Adults

The protection offered by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine wanes over time for older …
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Mississippi’s Expanded Scope of Practice Bill Will Not Move Forward

In Mississippi, the House of Representatives passed a bill in February that would have allowed …
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CDC Updates Meningococcal, RSV, Chikungunya Vaccine Recommendations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee voted on recommendations for 3 …
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Antibiotics In Early Childhood Linked To Chronic Conditions

When kids are exposed to antibiotics before age 2, they may be at greater risk …
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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 …
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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: …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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Clinical Articles

Postpartum Vaginal Bleeding and Discharge

Postpartum Presentations: When Risk Arises After Delivery – Vaginal Bleeding and Discharge

Urgent Message: Postpartum vaginal bleeding and discharge have a broad range of etiologies ranging from benign and self-limited to life-threatening …
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Spontaneous Pneumothorax in Urgent Care

Urgent Care Evaluation and Management of Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Urgent Message: Spontaneous pneumothorax (PTX) occurs unpredictably. Many patients with spontaneous pneumothorax may initially present to urgent care, so it …
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Postpartum Headache Presentations to Urgent Care

Postpartum Presentations: When Risk Arises After Delivery – Headache

Urgent Message: Both common and serious postpartum conditions may present in urgent care. Headache presentations should prompt consideration for possible …
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Tuberculosis Screening

Clinical Review of Current Best Practices for Tuberculosis Screening, Testing, and Treatment in the Urgent Care Setting

Urgent Message: Patients may present with needs surrounding tuberculosis (TB) screening, testing, and treatment to urgent care centers. There is …
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Practice Management Articles

AI Trends in Urgent Care

Two AI Trends That Will Change Urgent Care

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Urgent Message: While there are seemingly countless applications for artificial intelligence in healthcare, ambient scribes …
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State Legislation for Urgent Care

State Legislation Could Impact Urgent Care Facilities

Alan Ayers, MBA, MAcc Urgent Message: Legislation for the licensure of urgent care centers has been enacted or proposed in …
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Shorter Visits Drive Greater Patient Satisfaction in Urgent Care

Shorter Visits Drive Greater Patient Satisfaction in Urgent Care

Urgent Message: Urgent care has long marketed itself as providing immediate care for acutely rising conditions, and true to this …
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Legality of Docking the Pay in Urgent Care

The Legality of Docking the Pay of Urgent Care Employees

Urgent Message: While legal under circumstances outlined by federal and state law, docking employee pay for violating an employer’s policies …
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Insights in Images Challenges

CASE REPORTS

Recurrent Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in a Patient With Repeated Exposure to Metronidazole: A Case Report

Urgent Message: Metronidazole, even during short courses of therapy, can result in disabling neuropsychiatric symptoms. It …
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Hot Water Irrigation to Relieve Discomfort After Wasp and Bee Envenomation: A Case Series

Urgent Message: Hot water irrigation for 2 minutes provided immediate and sustained relief of pain and …
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Death After Delayed Diagnosis of Acute Epiglottitis in an Adult Patient Initially Seen in Urgent Care: A Case Report

Urgent Message: Epiglottitis is a potentially fatal condition that has undergone a changing etiology in the …
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Looking Beyond the Mouth–A Rare Case of Acute Glaucoma Presenting with Dental Pain: A Case Report

Urgent Message: Acute angle closure glaucoma can present with a variety of types of head and …
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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 …
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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 …
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Are Urgent Care Providers Liable if They Don’t Test Patients for COVID?

Download the PDF: Are Urgent Care Providers Liable if They Don’t Test Patients for COVID? Urgent …
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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 …
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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 …
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Avoiding Defamation Lawsuits in Urgent Care

Urgent message: People are unlikely to trust their healthcare to a provider with a sullied reputation, …
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JUCM CAREER CENTER

Download Past Issues

JUCM 2024 Clinical Cover

April 2025: Spontaneous Pneumothorax: Important Updates in Diagnosis & Management

VIEW ISSUES ARCHIVE

CLINICAL CHALLENGES

28-Year-Old With Foot Pain

Differential Diagnosis Fourth metatarsal fracture Lisfranc fracture dislocation Middle cuneiform fracture Figure 2. The Resolution Diagnosis The correct diagnosis in …
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65-Year-Old With Hypertension

Differential Diagnosis ST-Elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) with strain Diffuse subendocardial ischemia Hypokalemia Supraventricular tachycardia Diagnosis The …
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36-Year-Old With Hair Loss

Differential Diagnosis Alopecia areata Alopecia mucinosa Pseudopelade Telogen effluvium Diagnosis The correct diagnosis in this case is alopecia areata—an autoimmune …
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7-Year-Old With Playground Injury

Differential Diagnosis Fractures of the first and second metatarsals Midfoot sprain Second phalanx dislocation Diagnosis The correct diagnosis in this …
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57-Year-Old with Left Foot Pain

Differential Diagnosis Puncture wound Retained organic material foreign body Contusion Abscess Cellulitis Osteomyelitis Plantar fasciitis Diagnosis The correct diagnosis in …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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Revenue Cycle Management

Effective Strategies Minimize Claim Denials in Urgent Care

Urgent care centers serve a crucial function in providing prompt and accessible healthcare, but they encounter unique challenges in managing …
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Refresher: Guidelines for E/M Coding

Phyllis Dobberstein, CPC, CPMA, CPCO, CEMC, CCC Hard to believe that the new evaluation and management (E/M) guidelines have been …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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DEVELOPING DATA

Does Urgent Care Require 7-Day Operations?

While patients and payers may expect urgent care to be available 7-days a week, approximately 20% of urgent care centers …
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Retail Clinic Rooftops Retreat From 2023 Peak

 Between May, 20231 and December, 2024, the number of retail-host clinics in the United States fell 21.7% from 1,750 to 1,370, …
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Retail Clinic Rooftops Retreat from 2023 Peak

Between May, 20231 and December, 2024, the number of retail-host clinics in the United States fell 21.7% from 1,750 to …
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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 …
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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 …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care

Abstracts in Urgent Care – May 2025

Which Topical Agent is the Best Choice for Epistaxis? Take Home Point: This study found that oxymetazoline was most effective …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care – April 2025

Evaluating Interventions for Improving Antibiotic Stewardship in Urgent Care Take Home Point: An antibiotic stewardship intervention was associated with reduced …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care – March 2025

Developing Procedural Mastery With Slit Lamp Use Take Home Point: Simulation-based mastery learning (SBML) intervention improved emergency physicians’ confidence in …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care – February 2025

Concussion Recovery in Young Children   Take Home Point: This study suggests that children aged 5-12 years old with concussion …
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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 …
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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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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’—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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‘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 …
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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 …
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