Practice Management
As many of you know, early last year we announced my plans to retire as CEO of the Urgent Care Association (UCA). While that’s still happening, I wanted to share why filling the role is taking such a long time. Hiring the CEO is one of the most important responsibilities of your elected Board of Directors, and it’s a responsibility they each take very seriously. They are committed to getting the best leader possible to …
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While patients and payers may expect urgent care to be available 7-days a week, approximately 20% of urgent care centers are closed on Saturdays, and approximately 30% are closed on Sundays, according to a February 2025 analysis of 14,301 centers by National Urgent Care Realty and Urgent Care Consultants. Of the centers open 7 days a week, 24% open and close at the same time every day. Otherwise, centers that are open weekends are likely …
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A new oral antibiotic, gepotidacin, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week for the treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs). According to the manufacturer, GSK plc, gepotidacin is a first-in-class antibiotic with a novel mechanism that inhibits bacterial DNA replication to treat female adults and pediatric patients (≥12 years, ≥40 kg) with uncomplicated UTIs. It’s designed to target several of the most common UTI-causing bacteria such as E. coli and …
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The surging measles outbreak—now spanning 18 states as of March 20—may continue for about a year, according to health experts in a CNN report. Weekly totals reached 378 confirmed cases nationwide. By comparison, the 2024 total case count for the entire year was 285. Although 95% of the current cases are in patients who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status, a few were reported in people who say they had at least 1 dose …
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Too few patients are receiving recommended chlamydia and gonorrhea treatment in primary care settings, according to a study published in the Annals of Family Medicine analyzing electronic health records from 2018 to 2022. Among 6,678 confirmed chlamydia cases and 2,206 confirmed gonorrhea cases studied, 75.3% and 69.6%, respectively, received treatment. Treatment rates were higher among women than men (chlamydia: 78.4% vs 67.2%; gonorrhea: 78.9% vs 51.4%). Additionally, younger individuals and those with coinfections were more …
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At least once a month, a friend or family member will text me—often for the first time in years—to share the summary of a recent visit to their local urgent care (UC). While these texts are universally unsolicited, I genuinely love receiving them. The unfiltered perspective cannot be matched by even the most sophisticated electronic medical record analytics or patient experience reports. This is because the stories they share with me, while anecdotal, provide a …
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In the latest iteration among floundering commercial retail spaces, landlords are courting healthcare tenants to fill empty storefronts that used to be occupied by department stores and boutiques. Most existing retail spaces have convenient neighborhood locations with enough local traffic to encourage a visit. According to a recent LA Times report, a network of dental offices in California has found early success with this emerging “med-tail” (medical retail) model, treating both scheduled and walk-in patients. …
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Most of the legislative issues that affect urgent care operations are governed at the state level, particularly provider scope-of-practice laws. A recent guest column in the Columbus Dispatch by Alan Ayers, MBA, MAcc, President of Urgent Care Consultants and Senior Editor of JUCM, makes the case for urgent care’s untapped potential in providing affordable access to care in rural areas. Kentucky and Indiana are witnessing growth in rural urgent care, but Ohio is lagging because …
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A cross-sectional study recently published in JAMA Psychiatry sums up the prevalence of prescription stimulant use disorder (PSUD) among U.S. adults. Using national data, researchers found that 25.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 23.8%-26.8%) of adults using prescription stimulants reported misuse, and 9.0% (95% CI, 8.0%-10.0%) had PSUD as measured by DSM-5 criteria. Misuse and PSUD were significantly more prevalent among those prescribed amphetamines compared to methylphenidate. The study also identified demographic trends, with the largest …
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After nearly 100 years as a publicly traded company, Walgreens is going private as part and parcel of a $10 billion buyout deal with private-equity firm Sycamore Partners. The company is on-task to sell Village Medical, Summit Health and CityMD clinic brands, all of which are operated under the VillageMD line of business. Many saw this massive leveraged buyout coming, although the on-again, off-again speculation hinted at prolonged negotiations. For the moment, there is no …
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