Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Rural Network Strategy Includes Urgent Care

Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC) this week acquired RMS Healthcare Management’s Med First Primary & Urgent Care, a portfolio company of private equity firm Sverica Capital Management. Founded in 2007, Med First operates a hybrid model for both primary care and urgent care services, and it’s also one of the frontrunners in risk-based accountable care in the North Carolina market. The acquisition by CCNC is unique because Med First represents a private-equity-backed platform operating …

Younger School Kids More Likely To Test Positive For Respiratory Viruses

A study in a public school system found that younger students had the highest rates of respiratory virus detections compared to older grades, as published in Pediatrics. From November 2022 to May 2023, 816 students and staff in the North Kansas City, Missouri, school system provided 5,981 nasal swab samples and 5,198 monthly symptom surveys for the pre-kindergarten (pre-K) through 12th grade classes for 24.5 weeks. Overall, 85.5% of students and staff had at least …

What Do You Tell Patients About Chatbots And Test Results?

Many patients are now using artificial intelligence (AI) tools with large language models to fill the information gap between the time their test results show up in their patient-facing health records—which could be the same day—and the time their clinicians provide personalized interpretation and next steps. Experts warn that the accuracy of AI chatbot information often depends on how the patients frame their questions and what details they input along the way. But it turns …

Last Flu Season Came In With Highest Severity in 14 Years

The cumulative influenza-associated hospitalization rate for the 2024–2025 season was the highest since 2010–2011, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which classified the season overall as “high severity.” Hospital admissions from October 1, 2024, through April 30, 2025, reached 127.1 per 100,000 population and were highest among Americans aged 75 years and older (598.8). Across age groups, hospitalization rates during last season were 1.8 to 2.8 times higher …

Campaign Increases Urgent Care Adherence to 5-Day Antibiotic Prescribing

In a quasi-experimental study involving 2 Denver Health urgent care centers, an antibiotic stewardship program known as the Take 5 Campaign increased the rates of adherence to a recommended 5-day antibiotic prescribing duration, according to a new study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. “Antibiotic stewardship in urgent care is critical,” says Lindsey E. Fish, MD, study author and Editor in Chief of JUCM. “While many programs focus on decreasing inappropriate antibiotic prescribing, ensuring the …

Urgent Care Among Top Paid Specialties For PAs

According to a compensation survey analyzed by Beckers, physician assistants (PAs) in urgent care earn a median $154,355 in annual total cash compensation. In fact, urgent care is one of the top 10 highest paid specialties for PAs, although cardiovascular surgery claims the number 1 spot at $166,250 in annual compensation. For nurse practitioners (NPs), urgent care didn’t make the list of lucrative specialties, however, emergency medicine was ranked best for NPs at $155,556 in …

Smartwatch Launches With Hypertension Detection Feature

The seemingly ubiquitous Apple smartwatch now has another feature that could be useful in screening users for health conditions. In addition to its approved method for alerting users for possible atrial fibrillation, the latest version of the wearable device includes a tool to detect chronic hypertension, according to the company’s press release. The watch would display a heart-shaped symbol and a “possible hypertension” notification based on data from an optical heart sensor that analyzes how …

OTC Allergy Nasal Spray Could Protect Against COVID Infection: Phase 2 Study

A phase 2 clinical trial found that azelastine nasal spray could potentially prevent COVID-19 infections in healthy adults, as published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Among 450 study participants, SARS-CoV-2 infection as determined by polymerase chain reaction testing occurred in 2.2% of those using azelastine compared with 6.7% in the placebo group, representing a 67% relative risk reduction (odds ratio, 0.31; 95% confidence interval, 0.11-0.87). Symptomatic COVID-19 infections were also less frequent with azelastine (1.8% vs …

FDA Warns More Kids Are Getting Sick From Exposure To Nicotine Pouches

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning clinicians and parents about the potential health risks of nicotine pouches, especially those that do not have child-resistant packaging. Reports of accidental exposures to nicotine pouches have increased with some cases leading to nicotine poisoning, and according to FDA, children can experience toxic effects after exposure to as little as 1-4 milligrams of nicotine. Symptoms can include confusion, vomiting, and loss of consciousness. In a statement, the …

Urgent Care Increases HIV Testing: Study Intervention

By using an educational and EHR intervention, Intermountain Health significantly increased HIV co-testing for patient encounters involving testing for gonorrhea and/or chlamydia (GC/CT) in urgent care (UC) and emergency departments (ED). Urgent care HIV co-testing increased from 29% in the preintervention period to 39% during the 24-month intervention—from April 2023 through March 2024. Also, ED co-testing rates increased from 12% to 25% during the intervention as well. The analysis of 18,783 encounters published in Clinical …

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