Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

2024 Urgent Care’s Top 100 by Number of Locations

Alan Ayers, MBA, MAcc The following table summarizes the 100 largest urgent care operators by number of locations as of May 2024, based on data provided by National Urgent Care Realty and Experity. Because of the significant number of private operators that also operate facilities with hospital partners, this year’s list delineates the breakdown of health-system-affiliated locations. Data is reported by the parent entity as opposed to regional brands, partnerships, or affiliations. Of the nation’s …

Atypical Chest X-ray Appearance in a Patient with Cough: A Case Report

Urgent Message: The azygos lobe may be apparent on a chest x-ray and is a relatively uncommon, yet benign finding, that is important to distinguish from other etiologies. The azygos lobe is an embryological remnant and is usually incidental in nature. Citation: Richmond C, Mancuso A. Atypical Chest X-ray Appearance in a Patient with Cough: A Case Report. J Urgent Care Med. 2024; 18(10):23-25 Keywords: azygos lobe, normal variant, chest x-ray Abstract Introduction: Recognition of …

Urgent Care Management of Scaphoid Fracture

Naushair Hussain, DO; Shahmeer Hussain, DO; Clinton A. Hartz, MD Urgent Message: Scaphoid fractures most frequently occur at the mid aspect, or “waist,” of the scaphoid, and require about 10 weeks of prolonged immobilization before slow return to normal function. Such fractures have high risk of complications and subsequent chronic pain and/or disability if not appropriately immobilized. Citation: Hussain N, Hussain S, Hartz C. Urgent Care Management of Scaphoid Fracture. J Urgent Care Med. 2024; …

Secret Sauce

Amazon. Dollar General. Berkshire Hathaway. JPMorgan Chase. Walgreens. Walmart (insert echo here). It’s been an interesting few years watching these giants try to do what you do. The biggest tragedy of all of this is the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been spent by these folks that could have been saved if someone on their end had simply picked up the phone and talked to one of us. No one called the Urgent …

‘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 shift without fail—that’s how mantras work after all. Hearing the word “mantra” might conjure images of a placid-faced yogi seated in the lotus position for some, but a mantra needn’t serve only spiritual practice. A well-conceived mantra can also prove useful when deployed in any context where we might benefit from being reminded frequently to …

One Medical’s Call Center Quality Questioned

One Medical is under fire for failing to prioritize some patients who had symptoms that should have received immediate attention. The crux of the problem is that the virtual and in-person primary care provider—now owned by Amazon as a result of a $3.9 billion deal from February 2023—routes patients to a call center that is staffed in part by contractors with limited training, according to the Washington Post. The news outlet cites leaked documents that …

Women More Likely to Have Long COVID

New analysis from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) indicates that nearly 18 million US adults have experienced long COVID. Data gathered through the agency’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey of more than 17,400 adults found 8,275 had a history of COVID-19, and 1,202 reported long-COVID symptoms. Women (8.6%) were more likely than men (5.1%) to report long COVID, and adults aged 35 to 64 were more affected than other age groups. White and …

Father and Daughter Work Together in Urgent Care

For most physicians, medicine is a calling, but for Roger Hicks, MD, FCUCM, and his daughter Marya Hicks, MD, medicine is also a team effort. As it turns out, both Roger and Marya care for patients at the same urgent care center. Patients arriving at the Dignity Health Medical Group Urgent Care of Sierra Nevada in Grass Valley, California, might not realize their care is delivered by a father-daughter duo. In a recent live interview …

RSV Rates Doubled During 2022-2023 Flu Season

During the 2022-2023 season, pediatric hospitalizations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) doubled compared to the previous year. This information comes from a study in JAMA Network Open involving 700,000 children, examining RSV-related hospitalizations and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions from July 1, 2017, to March 31, 2023. The hospitalization rate was 289.1 per 100,000 children in 2021-2022, which is consistent with the rates from 2017 to 2020. However in the following year, the 2022-2023 season …

CityMD Pays $12 Million in False Claims Settlement

CityMD, which operates more than 175 urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey, has agreed to pay $12 million to settle allegations of violating the False Claims Act. The allegations state that for 2 years, CityMD knowingly submitted false claims to a federal health program for uninsured patients for COVID-19 testing. The Justice Department says CityMD failed to adequately verify patients’ insurance status, submitting claims for those who already had insurance. Additionally, CityMD …