Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

The ‘Halo Effect’ of Hybrid Care

Contrary to the fear that virtual care cannibalizes brick-and-mortar volume, 2025 data reveals a distinct “halo effect” for hybrid urgent care operators. Analysis of average daily visits shows that practices offering telemedicine outperformed those that did not by nearly 12%, averaging 34.5 visits per day compared to 30.8. Crucially, this growth is not purely digital. While hybrid clinics averaged 2.1 telemedicine cases daily, they also saw 32.4 in-person visits—approximately 2 more physical encounters per day …

What To Know About Payers’ Downcoding Procedures

Tricia Krueger, CPC; Nikki Benedict Insurers are drawing provider backlash for new payment policies that reduce reimbursements. For example, Cigna is automatically “downcoding” 6 evaluation and management (E/M) billing codes for a small percentage of providers, resulting in lower payments for routine services like office visits. Aetna’s new Medicare Advantage policy will automatically approve certain hospital admissions but reimburse them at the lower observation rate instead of the full inpatient rate. Providers argue these opaque …

Why Disclaimers Don’t Belong in Patient Charts and What They Say About Your Culture of Care

Urgent Message: Replace vague, defensive disclaimers in patient charts with clear, specific documentation and evidence-based communication to strengthen trust and demonstrate a culture of quality care. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Keywords: EHR templates; smart phrases; culture; disclaimers; patient charts; malpractice Disclaimers are creeping into urgent care documentation. Many providers have grown accustomed to including boilerplate language such as “comfort measures were reviewed,” “patient verbalized understanding,” or “dictated but not read.” These lines are often …

How to Choose the Right Level of Surveillance and Security for an Urgent Care Center

Urgent Message: Choosing the right security system—whether it’s surveillance cameras or a scalable monitored alarm network—can improve operational oversight and reduce the financial risk of your urgent care investment. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Keywords: urgent care security; surveillance cameras; HIPAA compliance; monitored alarm systems; healthcare facility safety; operational risk management Whether you’re just starting in urgent care or managing a growing footprint of centers, securing your physical space is essential to protecting your investment. …

Potential Impact of Urgent Care Providers in Facilitating Lung Cancer Screening

Claire Katen; Cindy Lockett, MD It is well documented that Americans’ overall health lags behind that of other nations with the United States ranking 46th in life expectancy globally.1 This disparity is likely driven by multiple factors with limited access to healthcare services playing a significant role.2 As a premedical student, I, like many aspiring and active healthcare professionals, would like to close healthcare gaps and contribute to improving patient health outcomes. The urgent care …

Momentum Matters

March has always felt like a turning point to me. The energy of the new year settles into steady motion, plans become real work, and the direction ahead starts to feel clear. For Urgent Care, that sense of momentum is especially strong right now. In February, leaders from across our field came together in Washington, D.C., for the Urgent Care Association Capitol Hill Advocacy Day. Those few days captured something important about who we are …

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 …

Mitigating Coding Compliance Risks of AI Documentation Tools

Three types of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are quickly moving to the urgent care exam room: real-time transcription; real-time coding; and clinical decision support systems.[1] They promise to reduce clinician burden per visit, improve documentation in the medical record, reduce cost per episode of care, and improve reimbursement. They may create challenges related to clinical ownership, medical decision making, and compliance, however.[2] Notes and code suggestions generated by AI for urgent care patients are likely …

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