Ashley Blachford, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

POC Viral Testing and Stewardship Reduces Antibiotic Prescribing in UC

Researchers found combining a 15-pathogen point-of-care (POC) respiratory viral panel with an antimicrobial stewardship intervention program resulted in reduced antibiotic prescribing in an urgent care setting in Louisiana, as published in Microbiology Spectrum. Alongside the stewardship program—which included patient education and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s MITIGATE tool kit—the POC panel was used for 296 adult patients, and results were compared with 600 seasonally matched historical controls. Overall antibiotic prescribing decreased from 38.2% …

Antivirals Underprescribed For Older Adults

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found low use of COVID-19 antiviral drugs among individuals age 65 and older, even though it’s a population at high risk of severe illness and COVID-19–related hospitalization, according to the recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Researchers examined cases in outpatient settings with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result or COVID-19 diagnosis during June 1, 2023–September 30, 2025. A total of 482,456 patient encounters with a COVID-19 diagnosis …

Oregon Advances Measure To Set Standards For Urgent Care

The Oregon House of Representatives unanimously voted in favor of a bill that would set minimum care standards for Oregon’s urgent care clinics. Proponents describe the proposed legislation as a starting point to help patients choose an urgent care clinic appropriate for their situation because lawmakers believe there is little consistency among urgent cares in terms of the services they provide, according to local news outlet Lookout. The move is set against a backdrop of …

Measles Exposure Sites Include Urgent Cares, Airports, Disneyland

As of February 19, 2026, there were 982 confirmed measles cases reported in the United States for the year so far, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—a high case count for a year that is barely 2 months in. By comparison, there were a total of 2,280 cases through all of 2025. Public health leaders and clinicians are facing 5 new outbreaks this year in at least 26 states. Health departments …

It’s Hard To Predict Who Might Be At Risk For Food Allergies

An analysis of 190 studies including 2.8 million children published in JAMA Pediatrics found that approximately 4.7% of children develop food allergy by age 6. The strongest risk factors for food allergy include several prior allergic conditions: atopic dermatitis in the first year of life (odds ratio [OR] 3.88, risk difference [RD] 12%); allergic rhinitis (OR 3.39, RD 10%); and wheeze (OR 2.11, RD 5%). Markers of skin barrier dysfunction, including elevated transepidermal water loss, …

More Than 46% of Americans Will Be Obese By 2035

In 1990, 19.3% of American adults were considered obese. By 2022, the prevalence had increased to 42.5% of adults. Now researchers are predicting that by 2035, the percentage of adults who are obese will increase to 46.9%, as published in JAMA. Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, although there are many who challenge the 200-year-old measure because it doesn’t translate well across different races, ethnicities, and genders. The …

ACP: Physicians Are Not ‘Providers’

A new position paper in the Annals of Internal Medicine this month examines the impact on professional and ethical perceptions when the word “provider” is used to describe physicians. The American College of Physicians’ (ACP) Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee, which developed the paper, says that physicians should always be identified as “physicians,” and overall, more specific terminology should replace the word “provider.” Likewise, nonphysicians who deliver care should be called “healthcare professionals” or …

Ranks of Physician Assistants Grow Within Urgent Care

The proportion of physician assistants (PAs) who are working in urgent care increased by 0.5% nationally from 2020 to 2024, according to the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants’ (NCCPA) 2024 annual statistical profile of PAs. About 5.6% of all certified PAs work in an urgent care setting. Only hospitals (42.3%) and office-based private practices (36.4%) show a larger proportion of PAs. Hawaii gained the most urgent care PAs from 2020 to 2024 with …

Atypical Cases of Ringworm Emerge in Minnesota

Minnesota Health officials are reporting an outbreak of Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII (TMVII), a fungus that causes ringworm and is associated with transmission through sexual contact, primarily among men who have sex with men. In July 2025, the first case of TMVII was confirmed in a resident who presented with a genital rash. Since then, the state has identified 13 confirmed cases and 27 suspected cases, officials say. The first case of TMVII in the …

Kroger Shutters Store Clinics, Perhaps Looking Toward Future Pharmacist Models

Effective April 2026, the Kroger Co. will be closing 18 The Little Clinic in-store locations in the state of Georgia and at least 1 in Ohio. The company has not given any details behind the decision. There’s reason to believe the company may be banking on the possibility of a new model in the market, in which pharmacists would have expanded scope of practice to recommend treatment and prescribe medications. Such a model is now …

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