Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Portable X-Ray in Urgent Care: Why Cheaper Isn’t Better

Urgent Message: Urgent care startups should avoid “cheaper” portable x-ray units, as they face regulatory restrictions, create workflow bottlenecks, and produce inferior images, making a fixed DR suite a better long-term investment. Keywords: portable x-ray; diagnostic radiology; radiation exposure; fractures Urgent care centers thrive by delivering fast, comprehensive, 1-stop service to ambulatory patients, and imaging capability is central to that promise. New operators commonly face a dilemma: their pro forma is tight, build-out costs are …

38-Year-Old Male With Knee Pain After a Fall

A 38-year-old otherwise healthy male presents to urgent care with acute right knee pain following a 6-foot fall from a ladder, landing directly on his right lower extremity 2 hours prior to arrival. He reports severe pain and the inability to bear weight since the injury. Physical examination reveals that he is afebrile with normal vital signs. Musculoskeletal exam is notable for moderate knee effusion with surrounding early ecchymosis, and medial joint line tenderness. There …

53-Year-Old Butcher With Red Rash Following a Cut to the Hand

A 53-year-old male butcher visits urgent care for a painful red rash that developed on his hand 3 days prior. There is no history of recent travel, but he accidentally cut himself when processing meat 1 week ago. Exam reveals that the patient is febrile at 100.2° F. Otherwise, his vital signs are within normal limits, and he is well appearing. On dermatologic examination, erythematous vesiculated papules, plaques, and associated edema are visible on the …

55-Year-Old With Frequent Falls

A 55-year-old male with past medical history of alcohol use disorder presents to urgent care with frequent falls. He denies chest pain or shortness of breath. An ECG is obtained. View the ECG and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.

The ‘Test and Treat’ Shift: 2026

“Test and treat” legislation at the state level is transforming pharmacists from dispensers into providers, authorizing them to diagnose and prescribe for conditions like flu, strep, and COVID-19 without physician oversight. As the map illustrates, this model is now active in more than 20 “direct open market” states (green), with legislation pending in key “battleground” states (yellow). JUCM first reported this disruption in 2015, and now the strategic intent is finally meeting regulatory reality.1 As …

One-Third of Adults Use AI For Health, Avoiding Professional Care

Some 32% of U.S. adults say they have turned to artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots in the past year for health information, according to 2 recent surveys. The KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust found younger and lower-income individuals often turn to AI for help to avoid the costs and access barriers when seeking traditional healthcare services. What’s concerning is that many users skip professional follow-up entirely, including 58% of those seeking mental health …

Panic Attacks Might Be Another Side Effect of Fluoroquinolones

Researchers believe there may be a potential link between fluoroquinolone antibiotics and increased risk of panic attacks, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. Using the Food and Drug Administration’s Adverse Event Reporting System database, researchers examined 4 clinical trials and found panic attack prevalence was low (0.5%–1.8%) but was reported with wide confidence intervals. Case reports generally suggested a probable causal link, according to the authors. Further …

New Center Sites May Be Harder To Secure In Tight Real Estate Market

A new real estate report highlights a critical shortage of U.S. outpatient facilities, particularly in fast-growing Sun Belt markets. The JLL 2026 Medical Outpatient Building Perspective notes that while patient demand is surging due to aging demographics and a preference for cost-effective, community-based care, new construction has stalled because of high costs and financial risk. With 93% occupancy rates across the nation, space for independent practices is scarce; most new builds are currently dedicated to …

HMPV Seems To Peak In April

As every urgent care clinician knows, acute respiratory illnesses (ARIs) often present with many of the same symptoms, such as cough, fever, and rhinitis. A recent outpatient study of 7,143 patients with ARI published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases found that human metapneumovirus (HMPV) accounted for 4.7%–7.3% of cases during the 5 influenza seasons the authors examined (from 2016–2022), compared with 11.3%–13.6% for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and 30.2%–37.1% for influenza. HMPV circulated later in …

Claim Submission Final Rule Puts Your Fax Machine On Notice

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule this month that is meant to drive healthcare transactions away from fax machines and postal mail. Too many providers are still using these old-school workflows with surprising frequency for submitting claims documentation today, and CMS believes the Adoption of Standards for Health Care Claims Attachments Transactions and Electronic Signatures Final Rule represents a major step toward fully electronic workflows, according to a press release. …

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