Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures in the Urgent Care Setting: A Case Report

Urgent Message: Accurately identifying psychogenic nonepileptic seizures in the acute care setting helps avoid dangerous and costly medical interventions, such as aggressive antiepileptic drug treatment. Jacob Welch, OMS-4; Logan Hurm, OMS-4; Akul Mitra, OMS-4; Cameron Shoemaker, PGY-2; Michael B. Weinstock, MD Keywords: psychogenic nonepileptic seizures; functional seizure; functional neurological disorder Abstract Introduction: Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) mimic epilepsy but lack epileptiform electrical brain activity. In the urgent care setting, prioritizing rapid stabilization often leads to …

Factors Associated With the Use of an Online Appointment Tool in Urgent Care Centers

Urgent Message: Significant differences in the use of an online appointment tool based on age, race, insurance type, and urgent care setting underline the need for targeted strategies to address differences in adoption across patient groups. E. Melinda Mahabee-Gittens, MD, PhD; Parth Divekar, MS; Lara Stone, MA; David Schnadower, MD, MPH; Sinem Toraman Turk, PhD Keywords: online appointment scheduling; pediatric urgent care; virtual queueing; digital health; healthcare access; health disparities Abstract Aim: To keep up …

Urgent Care Refers 1 Patient in 50 to the ED

Urgent Message: Urgent care sends roughly 1 patient in 50 to the emergency department. Most of those referrals involve symptoms that call for imaging, laboratory testing, or monitoring that the clinic cannot provide. Some are emergencies identified during the visit for an ordinary complaint. Keywords: emergency department referral; emergency department transfer; urgent care referral patterns; practice variation; clinical documentation; urgent care operations Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc Consider a scenario in which a patient writes …

Urgent Care Evaluation and Management of Acromioclavicular Separation

Urgent Message: Urgent care management of acromioclavicular joint separation consists of patient education on immobilization and pain management with consideration for emergency department referral when red flags are present. Jerome Walsh, BS; Clinton Hartz, MD; Michael B. Weinstock, MD Keywords: acromioclavicular joint separation; ac joint injury; shoulder trauma; rockwood classification; shoulder injury; urgent care Questions for the Clinician at the Bedside Editor’s Note: While the images presented here are authentic, the patient case scenarios are …

Size and Ownership of U.S. Urgent Care Centers, 2026

As of July 1, 2026, there were 14,495 urgent care centers in the United States, according to National Urgent Care Realty data. The charts above break down that footprint by the number of locations per operator, affiliation with a hospital or health system, private equity investment, and participation in a health system/private equity joint venture. From the data: 56% of urgent care centers are operated by groups of 10 or more locations, up from 54% …

Abstracts in Urgent Care – November 2026

Editor’s Note: This month’s Abstracts department focuses exclusively on research that examines artificial intelligence in healthcare. AI-Assisted Professional Development Take Home Point: When paired with skilled facilitation, professional development programs supported by artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance engagement, foster reflective practice, and promote immediate application of interactive strategies in diverse teaching settings. Citation: Hou S-I. Enhancing interactive teaching for the next generation of nurses: generative-AI-assisted design of a full-day professional development workshop. Informatics. 2026;13(1):11. doi:10.3390/informatics13010011 …

The Future Is Being Built. Be Part of It.

Over the past several weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to see our industry from several different perspectives. At the Patient Experience Symposium in Boston, Massachusetts, I joined healthcare leaders from across the country to discuss what I call “The Urgent Care Effect,” which is how our industry helped change what consumers expect from healthcare. More recently, I spent time with Urgent Care leaders at the Northeast Urgent Care Association (NERUCA) meeting, and our colleagues in …

Identifying the Limitations of Telehealth in Urgent Care

Kristin Boddu, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, CNE, COI Telehealth has drastically improved access to urgent care, allowing patients to seek evaluation for acute complaints without travel, time away from work, or many of the operational obstacles of in-person care. Federal telehealth guidance recognizes improved access, reduced travel, and time savings as important benefits.1 For clinicians practicing urgent care through telehealth, convenience comes with the responsibility of recognizing when the patient needs something a screen cannot provide. …

States Allege OpenAI Fails To Adequately Protect Consumers

Attorneys general in Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, and West Virginia have all filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI as part of a coordinated effort to question whether OpenAI has misled consumers into believing ChatGPT is safer and more medically reliable than it actually is. For example, Iowa is seeking financial penalties of up to $40,000 per Consumer Fraud Act violation, compensation for affected consumers, and court-ordered changes to OpenAI’s safety practices. It also …

Negative Notes Diminish Patient Trust

A study published in JAMA Network Open found that approximately 1 in 6 U.S. adults reported encountering disrespectful or judgmental language in medical records or healthcare encounters. In a nationally weighted survey of 500 adults from November 21 to December 4, 2025, 17.1% of patient portal users reported seeing this type of language in their own or a loved one’s medical records. Examples of potentially judgmental descriptions include labeling patients as “noncompliant” or “resistant.” Among …

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