Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Carbon Health Settlement Serves as Warning Shot For MSOs

A freshly inked settlement involving Carbon Health Technologies—a primary care and telehealth provider—is getting attention because it represents a new era in enforcement of stricter corporate-practice-of-medicine rules in California enacted last year. At issue was Carbon Health’s operational approach, which the state attorney general alleged violated the law because the company acted as an unlicensed corporate entity effectively owning and controlling medical practices. In other words, the state believed the corporation itself directed practical medical …

There’s Room to Improve Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Sinusitis

Researchers found that antibiotic prescribing frequently exceeded guideline recommendations in a study of 1,000 ambulatory visits for acute sinusitis in 2024 across several locations of the Mayo Clinic health system, as published in Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology. Although only 67.6% of the encounters met criteria for antibiotic treatment, 89.2% of encounters resulted in an antibiotic prescription. Urgent care represented one-quarter of the study’s 1,000 encounters (254 visits) and 68.5% of those urgent care encounters …

Oral Drug Offers Options For Complicated UTI

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this month approved tebipenem pivoxil for adults with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs), including pyelonephritis, in patients who have limited or no alternative oral treatment options. Marketed as Utebzi, it is one of the more significant antibiotic approvals in recent years because it is the first oral carbapenem antibiotic available in the United States, according to manufacturer GSK. Until now, carbapenems (eg, ertapenem, meropenem, and imipenem) have generally required …

Small Rise in Tetanus Warrants Attention

Cases of tetanus in the United States rose from 17 in 2020 to 38 in 2025, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prompting public health experts to suggest that Americans might check their vaccine status and consider boosters when appropriate. CDC reported that from 2009–2023 there were 402 reported tetanus cases nationwide—an average of about 27 cases per year with 37 total deaths. However, other signs indicate …

AI Model Expands ECG’s Diagnostic Potential

An AI model developed by researchers at New York-Presbyterian and Columbia University Irving Medical Center has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for use in detecting structural heart disease through electrocardiograms (ECGs), according to a news release. Known as EchoNext, the deep learning model was trained to detect a broad range of structural abnormalities, as published in Nature: The model analyzes a routine 12-lead ECG and estimates whether a patient is likely to …

Endometriosis, Dysmenorrhea Linked to STI Diagnoses

In an analysis of 3.4 million women under age 40, researchers in Japan found a strong association between menstrual-related disorders (ie, endometriosis or dysmenorrhea) and diagnosed sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Among the 257,897 women with these conditions, STI diagnoses were consistently 4.31–5.29 times more common than among women without the disorders, as published in PLOS One. Genital chlamydia infection showed the largest absolute difference, affecting 3.53% of women with menstrual-related disorders compared with 0.67% of …

New mRNA Flu Shot Would Offer Timely Response To Circulating Flu Strains

If approved, a new seasonal flu shot would become the first commercially available flu vaccine using mRNA technology, according to a news release. Moderna’s seasonal influenza vaccine mRNA-1010 (marketed as mFlusiva) has not yet received final Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, but it has reached a major milestone. On June 18, the agency’s vaccine committee voted unanimously that the mRNA vaccine’s benefits outweigh its risks for adults aged 50 years and older, as published …

California Wage Rules Could Drive Up Urgent Care Labor Costs Overall

Starting July 1, healthcare organizations in California will begin paying employees according to new minimum wage rules under legislation signed into law in 2024. And for urgent care, the facility type makes a difference. Urgent cares affiliated with community clinics or rural health clinics must raise the minimum hourly pay from $21 to $22. For most urgent cares, however—operators that fall into the “all other covered healthcare facilities” category in the law—the minimum hourly pay …

New Glucose Monitor Measures Glycemic Trends For Kids

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor (CGM) indicated for children aged 2 years and older who do not use insulin, according to an agency news release. The wearable device continuously measures glucose levels and displays readings and trends through a smartphone application, which can be used on a caregiver’s device. Real-time glucose data—measured every 15 minutes—is intended to help children and their parents better understand the effects …

Last Season’s COVID Vaccine Reduced Critical Illness

Researchers found high effectiveness of the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine among adults treated across 381 emergency department and/or urgent care sites and 246 hospitals in 6 states between September 2024 and September 2025, as published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine. Among adults, vaccination was associated with a 26% reduction in COVID-19–related emergency department and urgent care visits, a 35% reduction in COVID-19–related hospitalizations, and a 41% reduction in critical illness compared with no vaccine. Protection …

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