Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Stop Waiting For ‘AI-Native’ Clinicians, Invest in Upskilling Now

Urgent Message: Invest in artificial intelligence upskilling across your organization by dedicating resource time and funding for educational activities. It’s a critical strategy for urgent care operators to improve staff retention and operational readiness. Keywords: clinician upskilling; AI literacy; workflow adoption; clinical documentation; decision support; change management Burnout remains a serious consideration across healthcare, and urgent care is no exception. At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how we deliver and manage care. …

The Listening Revolution: Change Management Considerations with Ambient AI

Urgent Message: The ultimate goal of ambient AI is to reclaim time for patient care by offloading burdensome administrative processes. Building trust is the first of several success factors in this revolution. Keywords: ambient AI; medical scribe; clinical documentation; EHR workflow; implementation barriers; change management Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Urgent care providers face immense demands: high patient volumes, tight schedules, and the ongoing expectation to deliver exceptional care. Yet amid these pressures, documentation continues …

Missed Opportunities in STI Test Bundling

An analysis of 70,915,524 visits logged across ~3,600 urgent care centers in the Experity EMR from January 1, 2024, through November 22, 2025, reveals a critical disconnect between testing realities and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines advising concurrent screening for HIV and syphilis when testing for chlamydia and gonorrhea (CT/NG). The most glaring omission is syphilis. As the table illustrates, fewer than 45% of patients tested for CT/NG who used health insurance—which paid …

The Intelligent Evolution: Lessons from the 2026 Urgent Care Congress

Urgent Message: The urgent care industry is pivoting from a phase of rapid footprint expansion to one of sustainable sophistication, driven by the integration of AI, the diversification of high-value services (like behavioral health), and a rigorous focus on operational and financial resilience to meet modern consumer expectations. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is President of Urgent Care Consultants and is Senior Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine For the past decade, the …

Is Your Urgent Care Ready for the 2026 ADA Mandate?

Urgent Message: Urgent care facilities must ensure their medical diagnostic equipment and staff training protocols meet new ADA accessibility standards by the July 8, 2026, deadline. Key Words: Americans with Disabilities Act; Medical Diagnostic Equipment; Accessible Exam Tables; Staff Training; Urgent Care Compliance Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Ensuring equal access to healthcare services isn’t just a goal, it’s a legal mandate. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)1 assures everyone has equal access to healthcare …

Commercial Reimbursement In Urgent Care

While examining 17,410,492 commercially insured visits in the Experity EMR from November 1, 2024, through October 31, 2025, we calculated zero-balance net revenue per visit (NRV) for urgent care by state. NRV represents total payments from both patients and insurers when the claim is closed, and it includes evaluation/management and ancillary codes. Data include commercial plans and third‑party managed Medicaid and Medicare but exclude self-pay, workers’ compensation, employer-paid services, motor vehicle accidents, and traditional Medicare …

Urgent Care Testing For Chlamydia and Gonorrhea

About three-quarters of urgent care centers test for C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae (CT/NG) infections either in-house or by sending out, but utilization lags. Here’s why it matters. An Urgent Care Consultants analysis of 90,856,421 visits charted in the Experity EMR (January 1, 2022–September 13, 2025) shows adoption has broadened since the previous analysis.1 Across visits in all clinics, only about 1% included a CT/NG test, while the top-decile clinics test in roughly 4–5% of …

The Case for a Generative AI Acceptable Use Policy in Urgent Care

Urgent Message: Banning generative artificial intelligence can create a culture of secretive use that presents potential risks for legal liability, clinical harm, and degradation of reputation. Key Words: Generative Artificial Intelligence; Protected Health Information; HIPAA; Clinical Decision-Making Across urgent care centers, many clinicians are experimenting with generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The trend is measurable, not anecdotal. The American Medical Association reports that 2 in 3 physicians used AI in 2024—a stunning rise from 38% …

Highlights From SERUCA 2025: AI, Burnout, and The New Front Line of Care

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc, President of Urgent Care Consultants and Senior Editor of JUCM. The Southeast Regional Urgent Care Association (SERUCA) 2025 conference, held November 14–15, 2025, in New Orleans, focused on urgent care’s most pressing challenges: technology, workforce well-being, and clinical quality through stewardship. This article highlights key takeaways for operators, vendors, and clinicians. Promoting Clinical Excellence Through Stewardship Stewardship was a recurring theme. In a session on antibiotic use, Steven Goldberg, MD, …

What Does ‘Standard of Care’ Mean from a Legal Compliance Perspective?

Urgent Message: Urgent care centers are not required to deliver the “best possible care” but rather an “acceptable” level of care, which is legally defined as the “standard of care.” Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Key Words: Standard of Care, Medical Malpractice, Medical Negligence, Legal Compliance, Disciplinary Action Medical malpractice occurs when a physician’s actions, or failure to act, during patient care don’t meet accepted medical standards and cause harm to the patient. To be …

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