Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Practice Management

 

Urgent Care News

LLMs Save Time For ED Discharge

LLMs Save Time For ED Discharge Notes

When using a large language model (LLM) assistant for generating emergency department (ED) discharge notes …
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Oak Street Clinic Closures

Cost-Of-Care Pressure Leads To Oak Street Clinic Closures

CVS Health plans to close 16 Oak Street Health centers, representing about 7% of its …
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New Hot Flash Drug

New Drug Relieves Hot Flashes In Menopausal Women

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the oral drug elinzanetant for the treatment of …
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Antivirals For Flu During Pandemic

Fewer Kids Received Antivirals For Flu During Pandemic Years

In a cross-sectional study of 3,378 influenza-positive children across 7 U.S. pediatric hospitals, researchers found …
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Insurers Automatically Reduce Pay

Insurers Automatically Reduce Pay For Some E/M Codes 

Several large health insurers are drawing provider backlash for relatively new payment policies that reduce …
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Original Research 

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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Asthma in Pediatric Urgent Care

Brief Report: A Pilot Quality and Feasibility Project Focusing on Clinician Use of an Order Set for Acute Asthma Care in Pediatric Urgent Care Centers

Urgent Message: There are limited data on implementation and use of clinical decision support tools …
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Cephalexin for Uncomplicated Cystitis

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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Clinical 

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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Herpes Testing in Urgent Care

Herpes Simplex Virus Infections: An Overview of Testing for the Urgent Care Clinician

Urgent Message: Polymerase chain reaction testing is recommended for patients with lesions that could represent herpes simplex virus infection. It …
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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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Practice Management 

Trash Disposal Urgent Care Liability

What is an Urgent Care Operator’s Liability Concerning Trash Disposal?

Urgent Message: Medical and non-medical waste produced by urgent care centers must be handled in accordance with federal, state, and …
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Red Flags When Selling Your Urgent Care

Red Flags When Selling Your Urgent Care Practice

Urgent Message: Offers to buy urgent care centers typically follow due diligence processes, and the assets are valued within predictable …
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Mental Health Urgent Care

Mental Health Urgent Care: Bridging the Gap in Crisis Care

Urgent Message: Meridian Health’s Mental Health Urgent Care service addresses the gap between outpatient therapy and hospitalization. As a way …
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Private Equity Investment In Urgent Care

Private Equity Investment In Urgent Care, By Number Of Centers, 2025

Fifteen years after the initial private equity platform investments in NextCare, FastMed, and MD Now, the number of urgent care …
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CASE REPORTS

Back Pain From Prostate Cancer

Back Pain From Vertebral Metastases in Prostate Cancer: A Case Report

Urgent Message: Persistent, non-mechanical back pain should raise suspicion for non-muscular causes, and in this case, …
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Severe Iron Deficiency Anemia

Severe Iron Deficiency Anemia Presenting with Fever and Gastrointestinal Complaints: A Pediatric Case Report

Urgent Message: While the evaluation of a chief complaint is a priority in urgent care, recognition …
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High-Pressure Paint Gun Finger Injury

High-Pressure Paint Gun Finger Injury: A Case Report

Urgent Message: While the initial clinical presentation of a high-pressure paint gun injury may not elicit …
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Neck Pain Spinal Epidural Abscess

When Neck Pain Arises From Spinal Epidural Abscess: A Case Report

Urgent Message: Though atraumatic neck pain is a common condition in the urgent care setting, spinal …
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Viral Gastroenteritis With Bowel Obstruction

Viral Gastroenteritis With Bowel Obstruction: A Case Report

Urgent Message: While acute gastroenteritis is typically self-limiting, inappropriate or excessive use of over-the-counter antimotility agents …
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Download Past Issues

Signs of Jersey Finger

October 2025: Caught in the Game: Signs of Jersey Finger Every Clinician Should Know

VIEW ISSUES ARCHIVE

JUCM CAREER CENTER

CLINICAL IMAGE CHALLENGES

Hamate Fracture in Urgent Care

24-Year-Old Male Hand Pain After a Golf Game

Differential Diagnosis Hamate fracture Fractures and/or dislocations of other carpal bones Distal radial fracture Metacarpal fracture Wrist sprain Hypothenar hammer …
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Atrial Flutter with Variable Conduction

60-Year-Old With 2 Weeks of Dyspnea

Differential Diagnosis Atrial fibrillation Atrial flutter with 2:1 conduction Atrial flutter with variable conduction ST-elevation myocardial infarction Ventricular pre-excitation Diagnosis …
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POCUS in Urgent Care Pregnancy Diagnosis

28-Year-Old Female with Left Lower Quadrant Pain

Differential Diagnosis Normal early intrauterine pregnancy Ectopic pregnancy Heterotopic pregnancy Gastrointestinal causes (eg, constipation, diverticulitis) Urinary tract infection Ureterolithiasis Ovarian …
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Merkel Cell Carcinoma

75-Year-Old Male with Facial Lesion

Differential Diagnosis Atypical fibroxanthoma Merkel cell carcinoma Pyogenic granuloma Keratoacanthoma Amelonatic melanoma Squamous cell carcinoma Microcystic adnexal carcinoma Nodular basal …
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Calcaneal Apophysitis

11-year-old With Heel Pain While Running

Differential Diagnosis Calcaneal apophysitis Achilles tendonitis Retrocalcaneal bursitis Calcaneal stress fracture Painful heel pad syndrome (contusion) Diagnosis The correct diagnosis …
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Revenue Cycle Management

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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Credentialing

Credentialing: The Gatekeeper of Access and Reimbursement

Phyllis Dobberstein, CPC, CPMA, CPCO, CEMC, CCC In the healthcare ecosystem, credentialing is more than a bureaucratic hurdle—it’s the linchpin …
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Payer Reviews and Medical Decision-Making

Navigating Payer Reviews and Medical Decision-Making: A Critical Guide for Urgent Care

Phyllis Dobberstein, CPC, CPMA, CPCO, CEMC, CCC Urgent care operators face increasing challenges from payer reviews—a situation exacerbated by ongoing …
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Minimize Claim Denials in Urgent Care

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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DEVELOPING DATA

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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Lyme-Related Diagnoses in Urgent Care

Northeast Leads in Lyme-Related Diagnoses in Urgent Care

In the United States, 8 common species of ticks exist in different geographies that present risk of transmitting more than …
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Credit Card on File

Patient Credit Card on File Increases Payments by 20%

Just as hotels require a credit card to cover any “incidentals,” urgent care is increasingly pre-authorizing patient credit cards at …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care

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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Abstracts in Urgent Care – July/August 2025

AI Performs Well in Virtual Urgent Care Visits Take Home Point: This study indicates that an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm …
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Abstracts in Urgent Care June 2025

Abstracts in Urgent Care – June 2025

Can Doctors Predict Patient Outcome from a First Impression? Take Home Point: In this systematic review, the first impressions of …
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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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