Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

LLMs Save Time For ED Discharge Notes

When using a large language model (LLM) assistant for generating emergency department (ED) discharge notes at an academic 2,400-bed tertiary hospital in South Korea, physicians gained some worthwhile efficiencies, according to a comparative effectiveness study published in JAMA Network Open. Six emergency physicians created 300 manual notes, 300 LLM drafts, and 300 LLM-assisted notes from 50 patient cases, which were judged on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. Compared with manual documentation, LLM-assisted …

Cost-Of-Care Pressure Leads To Oak Street Clinic Closures

CVS Health plans to close 16 Oak Street Health centers, representing about 7% of its total portfolio of these senior-focused primary care clinics. Doors will shutter by the end of February, and CVS cites rising medical costs as the main reason driving the reduction, according to Forbes. The company did not specify which locations will close but said it will continue to operate 230 Oak Street clinics across 27 states. Increased costs to deliver care …

Fewer Kids Received Antivirals For Flu During Pandemic Years

In a cross-sectional study of 3,378 influenza-positive children across 7 U.S. pediatric hospitals, researchers found a substantial decline in antiviral prescribing in the emergency department during the COVID-19 pandemic, as published in JAMA Network Open. Among 2,514 children at higher risk of severe influenza, 32.2% received antivirals in the prepandemic era (December 1, 2016, to March 31, 2020), compared with 15.6% during late pandemic era (July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2023)—a 53% relative decrease. …

Insurers Automatically Reduce Pay For Some E/M Codes

Several large health insurers are drawing provider backlash for relatively new payment policies that reduce certain reimbursements. Cigna is automatically downcoding 6 evaluation and management (E/M) billing codes (99204- 99205, 99214-99215, 99244-99245) for a small percentage of providers starting this month, for example, resulting in lower payments for some routine office visits. The insurers are leveraging algorithms and claims data to automatically downgrade the codes—often relying on third party vendors to do the adjustments. According …

Severe Mpox Strain Spreads In California

The California Department of Public Health has issued a warning that clade I mpox may be spreading in the state, “primarily impacting communities of gay and bisexual men,” after 3 cases of this rare, more severe strain of mpox were confirmed. At least 1 case occurred in a person with no recent travel who was recently hospitalized and has been discharged to recover at home, indicating that person-to-person community spread of clade I mpox is …

Our Organs and Tissues Are Steeping In Microplastics

Global plastic production has more than doubled since 2000, resulting in microplastic (any plastic fragment smaller than 5 millimeters) contamination in air, food, and water. Plastic contamination can cause concerning health effects, according to an online post in JAMA. Tiny plastic particles—generally those with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less—can enter the human body through inhalation or ingestion, and evidence shows they have been detected in multiple organs, including the lungs, brain, liver, and …

Forthcoming AHA Guidelines Will Address Emerging Approach To CKM Syndrome

In 2023, the American Heart Association (AHA) introduced a staging construct for cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic (CKM) syndrome. Subsequently, a 2024 JAMA article found among a study population of 10,762 U.S. adults, almost 90% met criteria for CKM syndrome (stage 1 or higher), and 15% met criteria for advanced stages between 2011 and 2020. In a new survey of 4,000 adults, AHA found that only 12% of respondents had heard of CKM, and 68% incorrectly …

Acupuncture Helps Older Adults With Low Back Pain

In a randomized clinical trial of 800 adults aged 65 years or older with chronic low back pain, both standard acupuncture and enhanced acupuncture with maintenance sessions significantly improved disability related to back pain compared with usual medical care, as published in JAMA Network Open. At 6 months, the adjusted mean disability score (Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire) improved by −1.0 for standard acupuncture and −1.5 for enhanced acupuncture vs usual care with benefits sustained at 12 …

Large Proportion of Patients Don’t Fill Their GLP-1 Meds

About 40% of patients in the University of Colorado Health system who were prescribed a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist over a nearly 4 year time span did not fill the prescription, according to a research letter in JAMA Health Forum. Researchers analyzed 9,848 orders for 6,094 unique patients between January 2018 and September 2022, finding that overall, 5,915 (60.1%) orders were filled within 90-days. Patients with both diabetes and obesity were more likely to …

Measles Surge Isn’t Behind Us Just Yet

As of October 8, 2025, there have been a total of 1,563 confirmed measles cases reported in 42 states this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The largest proportion of cases are among those ages 5-19 years (39%), and 92% of all cases are among unvaccinated people or those with unknown vaccine status. However, experts speaking to NPR believe the numbers are actually much higher than what has been reported and …

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