Perspectives

Cesar Mora Jaramillo, MD, FAAFP, FCUCM, DABFM With more than 15,000 centers and 200 million visits a year, urgent care centers (UCCs) play a critical role in the U.S. healthcare ecosystem.[1] Despite its impact and rapid growth, urgent care (UC) remains a unique clinical field that has not yet been matched with a standardized training or certification pathway for physicians. This needs to change. Practicing high-quality UC medicine requires a distinct skill set, including rapid clinical decision-making, procedural competence, and diagnosis and management of new-onset complex conditions as well as …
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Justin R. Murphy, MMSc, PA-C We live in a world that revolves around data. If you have been in the medical field for a decade or longer, you have observed the trend toward increasingly data-driven medical practice. If you have been practicing more recently, you have lived it. Metrics continually shape our practice patterns and influence our care, and their utilization will only increase. Currently, analytics and artificial intelligence tools cannot directly process human cognition and emotion. Therefore, data is required. The Conflict Although most data-driven solutions are promised to …
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Claire Katen; Cindy Lockett, MD It is well documented that Americans’ overall health lags behind that of other nations with the United States ranking 46th in life expectancy globally.1 This disparity is likely driven by multiple factors with limited access to healthcare services playing a significant role.2 As a premedical student, I, like many aspiring and active healthcare professionals, would like to close healthcare gaps and contribute to improving patient health outcomes. The urgent care provides a unique opportunity to positively impact patients as it may be their sole healthcare …
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Hal P. Kramer, MD After 41 years of clinical medicine, 2025 became my “physician, heal thyself” year. I became a patient with a story. Without challenge or feedback, many of us continue to repeat the same physical exams for a variety of complaints. We all develop our tools of the trade. However, we must remember that medicine is never all-known. Old ways can lead to new ways with a questioning and inquisitive mind. How many patients have I treated while in the Navy, emergency departments, urgent cares, and private practice? …
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Lisa H. Bishop It’s a familiar story. A friend was recently on vacation and visited a small, rural “urgent care” with a 2-day history of nasal congestion and a scratchy throat—no fever, no sinus tenderness, and a reassuring exam. She left with 4 prescriptions: a Z-Pak, a Medrol Dose Pack, a narcotic cough syrup, and Diflucan, “just in case the antibiotic causes yeast.” She reached out to me, concerned that she received 4 prescriptions for a common cold. This meant 4 unnecessary costs and 4 opportunities for side effects and …
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