Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

2025 Urgent Care’s Top 100 – By Number of Locations

The following table summarizes the 100 largest urgent care operators by number of locations as of April 1, 2025, based on data provided by National Urgent Care Realty and Urgent Care Consultants. Because of the significant number of private operators that also operate facilities with hospital partners, the list delineates health-system-affiliated locations. Duplication is avoided by placing joint venture centers under the operating partner. Data is reported by the parent entity as opposed to regional …

Navigating Payer Reviews and Medical Decision-Making: A Critical Guide for Urgent Care

Phyllis Dobberstein, CPC, CPMA, CPCO, CEMC, CCC Urgent care operators face increasing challenges from payer reviews—a situation exacerbated by ongoing confusion around coding guidelines and proper documentation of medical decision-making (MDM). As more urgent care providers grapple with administrative burdens and financial pressures, understanding how to document and code accurately has never been more important. The Rise of Payer Reviews Pre-payment reviews have become commonplace, initiated when a provider’s billing patterns—such as a higher frequency …

Optimism

The annual Urgent Care Convention is always my prime time for taking the pulse of the field. I hope you were among those able to join us in Dallas last month! There’s just no substitute for in-person conversations and observations. What I expected to hear is not what I heard. There are a lot of reasons to be pessimistic right now; some of them are new and some are the same challenges we’ve been working …

Patient Credit Card on File Increases Payments by 20%

Just as hotels require a credit card to cover any “incidentals,” urgent care is increasingly pre-authorizing patient credit cards at the time of service to cover any patient balances after their insurance claims adjudicate. Patient balances are often attributed to deductibles, co-insurance, or eligibility issues that can be difficult to identify at registration. Charging a patient’s credit card when an explanation of benefits is received should, in theory, reduce accounts receivable days, write-offs, and collections …

Embracing AI in Medicine: The Role of Large Language Models in Healthcare

Consider the case of a pediatric patient who presents with recurrent sore throat, erythema, no tonsillar exudates, and a negative viral panel. The patient has a positive group A strep (GAS) PCR swab, however, was recently diagnosed with streptococcal pharyngitis a couple weeks ago and just finished a course of amoxicillin 7 days ago. Is this a false positive PCR test result? What is the next appropriate course of action? What is the overall incidence …

Diagnostic Lab Test Utilization in Urgent Care

Urgent care has long been defined for its model of “test and treat” for minor, non-chronic health conditions. Patients presenting with symptoms typically receive a rapid, on-site lab test, and based on the results, the provider makes a diagnosis and orders a prescription. It’s a given that lab testing is a defining service and core capability of urgent care centers. Based on 34 million patient charts in Experity EMR from January 1 through December 31, …

Two AI Trends That Will Change Urgent Care

Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Urgent Message: While there are seemingly countless applications for artificial intelligence in healthcare, ambient scribes and front desk automation are key solutions that are readily available for adoption by urgent care providers. Citation: Ayers AA. Two AI Trends That Will Change Urgent Care. J Urgent Care Med. 2025; 19(8):xx-xx Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming healthcare, and urgent care operators have increasing opportunities to leverage AI in a way that …

Rapid Molecular Diagnostics for Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in Urgent Care: Filling a Selective Gap

Barbara D. Alexander, MD, MHS; Kimberly E. Hanson, MD, MHS; Adriana E. Rosato, PhD; David B. Nash, MD; Maren S. Fragala, PhD; Steven E. Goldberg, MD, MBA Diagnostic uncertainty and error contribute to inappropriate treatments, which, in turn, can increase morbidity and the costs associated with care.1,2,3,4 Diagnostic errors can also contribute to unnecessary antibiotic prescribing, contributing to antimicrobial resistance (AMR).1,5 Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) are among the most common urgent care (UC) and …

Hello World

The Urgent Care Convention is the launchpad for many of the new products and services for the year from our vendor community, the Urgent Care Association (UCA), and our affiliates. This year is no exception, so I wanted to tell you about a few big things coming out in May. The first is a new organization. Last year, the UCA Board voted to elevate our quality department into its own organization to better recognize quality …

Effective Strategies Minimize Claim Denials in Urgent Care

Urgent care centers serve a crucial function in providing prompt and accessible healthcare, but they encounter unique challenges in managing their revenue cycle, particularly in reducing claim denials. Unlike primary care or specialized medical practices, urgent care clinics often treat patients on a one-time basis, making both patient intake and billing more complex. Additionally, frequent turnover among front desk staff contributes to recurring errors in patient registration, insurance verification, and claims processing, all of which …

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