Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Chatbots Practicing Medicine Poorly

In a study of large language models (LLMs) published in Nature Medicine, researchers found chatbots provide inaccurate and inconsistent information to people seeking medical advice, which could pose health risks. What’s more, consumers did not make better health decisions than those who used traditional sources for their information such as internet searches. The randomized trial asked 1,298 participants to identify recommended actions for 10 medical scenarios (eg, developing a severe headache after a night out, …

Older Adults Willing To Drive An Hour For Care

A national survey of 2,650 U.S. adults aged 65 years and older examined how far patients are willing to travel for routine medical care before delaying or skipping appointments, as published in JAMA Network Open. Researchers found the median acceptable travel times were about 68 minutes for primary care, 128 minutes for specialty care, and 113 minutes for diagnostic visits. Higher income, higher education, and the ability to drive oneself were associated with greater willingness …

Ghoshal Tapped As CEO To Continue Experity’s Urgent Care Growth

At its annual Urgent Care Connect conference, Experity CEO David Stern, MD, announced that Bobby Ghoshal has been appointed as the company’s new CEO, and Stern will now lead in the role of executive chairperson of the board. Ghoshal joined Experity as president and chief operating officer in 2025, bringing 30 years of experience in healthcare, technology, operations, and acquisition leadership. He will guide the growth of several AI-driven Experity offerings, including AI Scribe, Care …

Should Nurses Deliver More Care To Address Physician Shortages?

A recent Cochrane review and meta-analysis evaluated the impact of “substituting nurses for physicians” in the hospital setting, based on the rationale that demand for health services is increasing worldwide at a time when there is also a shortage of physicians. Leveraging nurses more could be a way to improve access for many provider organizations. Across 80 randomized studies involving about 28,000 patients in 20 countries, researchers from Ireland, United Kingdom, and Australia found advanced …

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 …

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 …

Covenant Deal Expands Nonprofit’s Urgent Care Portfolio

Covenant Health announced this month that it has acquired 2 Lakeway Urgent Care locations in Lenoir City and the Greater Knoxville, Tennessee, area. With the transaction, the nonprofit now has a total of 9 urgent care locations across the state. By way of history, in August 2023, Covenant Health Urgent Care launched as a joint venture between Covenant Health and Urgent Care Group, which then expanded by acquiring ParkMed Urgent Care. By late last year, …

UCCOP, CUCM Speak Out Against ‘Urgent Care Kits’

In a new statement, the Urgent Care College of Physicians (UCCOP) and the College of Urgent Care Medicine (CUCM) make a strong stand against the development, distribution and promotion of what are being marketed online as “urgent care kits.” The kits typically include antibiotics, steroids, or other prescription medications packaged for unsupervised use by consumers at home. They are often advertised as a way for families to be prepared for “life’s unexpected moments,” which suggests …

Health Systems Ask For Clarity To Deter Violence Against ED Workers

Several healthcare organizations have asked the Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in a letter to provide specific written guidance on appropriate emergency department (ED) signage that would notify patients of programs or policies regarding violence against healthcare workers. In previous interactions, the organizations say CMS discouraged this type of signage if the signs “could deter individuals from remaining for medical screening examinations and stabilizing treatment.” However, CMS didn’t clarify what type of sign …

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