Practice Management
The average urgent care center goes unexpectedly “dark” 2.3 days a year—which means it closed on a day it otherwise should have been open (eg, staff illness, building repair, power outage, etc.). And the range of unexpected closure days is wide. Centers run by operators that have only a single location experience unexpected closures 4.6 days a year. Centers with 76 or more locations have 1.7 days of unexpected closures per center per year. The …
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Fasting longer than 12 hours before a lab test generally does not provide an advantage over fasting for 8–12 hours, according to new research. A large study of routine outpatient laboratory testing suggests that most tests are minimally affected by the length of time that the patient spends fasting beforehand, potentially changing perspectives on uniform fasting requirements. As published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed 9.8 million test results from 101,148 adults using laboratory data …
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A 68-year-old woman presents to urgent care with her husband after tripping on a rug at home the previous day and falling onto her left hand. She has experienced persistent pain and swelling in the hand since the fall. Ibuprofen provided modest pain relief. Physical examination reveals normal vital signs with focal edema and tenderness over the dorsal surface of the 4th and 5th metacarpals. Decreased range of motion and knuckle contour at the 5th …
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A 52-year-old woman visits the urgent care clinic for itchy bumps that have been present on her back for the past 3 months. The lesions are very itchy, and it is difficult for the patient to stop scratching. She has not tried any treatments for her symptoms since onset. On dermatological examination, pink scaly papules with dark exterior rims are seen on her back, some of which appear excoriated. Laboratory results for complete blood count, …
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Guideline for Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections in Women Take Home Point: This guideline recommends that urinalysis with symptoms should be used to diagnose recurrent urinary tract infection (rUTI) and emphasizes culture-guided antibiotic therapy, supportive care, and preventative measures to reduce antimicrobial resistance and overtreatment. Citation: Ackerman A, Bradley M, D’Anci K, et al. Updates to recurrent uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women: AUA/CUA/SUFU guideline (2025). J Urol. 2026;215(1):3–12. Relevance: Understanding of female rUTI has evolved …
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The latest annual report on cancer from a collaboration of cancer organizations shows a mixed picture. While incidence is edging upward overall, cancer mortality continues to decline. During 2018–2019 and 2021–2022 study periods, cancer incidence was higher among men than women (504.6 vs 443.0 cases per 100,000). For males, the top 5 types of cancer by incidence are: 1. prostate cancer; 2. lung and bronchus cancer; 3. colorectal cancer; 4. urinary bladder cancer; and 5. …
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Urgent Message: Urgent care operators may find practice variation in testing, imaging, referral, and coding among clinicians working in the same clinic. According to this data analysis, the reason for variation ultimately comes down to the decision making of the individual clinician rather than infrastructure, payer, or patient population. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Keywords: urgent care practice variation; provider variation; clinical practice patterns; diagnostic testing; referral patterns; evaluation and management coding; clinician performance Walk …
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Urgent Message: Urgent care centers can help prevent congenital syphilis by screening pregnant patients lacking prenatal records, confirming reactive point-of-care results, and administering penicillin when follow-up is uncertain. Amir Reza Tehrani, BS; Glenn E. Harnett, MD; Jeffrey D. Klausner, MD, MPH Keywords: syphilis screening; congenital syphilis; point-of-care testing; sexually transmitted infections; pregnant patients; urgent care; rapid diagnostics Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this review is to use clinical, operational, and economic evidence to support integrating …
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Urgent Message: If not recognized early, herpes zoster oticus may progress to Ramsay Hunt syndrome with facial nerve paralysis. Early antiviral therapy should be initiated, ideally within 72 hours of rash onset, to optimize outcomes. Vishal Prajapati, MBBS Keywords: herpes zoster oticus; Ramsay Hunt syndrome; facial nerve palsy; varicella-zoster virus; otalgia; vesicular rash; antiviral therapy Abstract Introduction: Herpes zoster oticus results from reactivation of varicella-zoster virus within the geniculate ganglion of the facial nerve. When …
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For much of Urgent Care’s history, convenience was our calling card. Walk-in access, extended hours, 7-day availability, and locations close to where people live and work changed what patients expected from healthcare. Convenience helped build this field, but it won’t be the only thing defining our future. Last month, I wrote about the forces reshaping healthcare: growing challenges with primary care access, rising costs, pressure on emergency departments, and employers searching for better ways to …
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