Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

COVID Vaccines Approved For 2025-2026 Respiratory Virus Season

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week approved 3 COVID-19 vaccines for the upcoming flu season. However, key restrictions that differ from years past include: fewer vaccine options for the youngest pediatric population; and generally no eligibility for those ages 5-64 who are healthy and not high-risk. In addition, FDA revoked emergency use authorizations for the vaccines, which had included a lower-dose option for children ages 6 months to 4 years. Announcements were posted …

Analysis of Short Course Systemic Glucocorticoid Prescribing in Urgent and Convenient Care Clinics

Urgent Message: Across a tristate urgent care and convenient care network, systemic steroid use occurred in nearly one-sixth of encounters (15.5%)—72.5% for likely avoidable indications and 66% for acute respiratory infections. The finding highlights the need to establish systemic steroid metrics to drive stewardship efforts. Paul Hansen, MD; Yang Wang, PhD; Muhammad Naseer, MD Abstract Background: The College of Urgent Care Medicine released a position statement advocating for corticosteroid stewardship best practices in 2022, …

Viral Gastroenteritis With Bowel Obstruction: A Case Report

Urgent Message: While acute gastroenteritis is typically self-limiting, inappropriate or excessive use of over-the-counter antimotility agents like loperamide can lead to serious complications—such as bowel obstruction or ileus—highlighting the critical need for patient education on safe medication use. Badi Eghterafi, DO; Nazanin Hazhir Karzar, MD Key Words: Gastroenteritis, Over The Counter Medications, Loperamide, Case Report, Bowel Obstruction Abstract Introduction: Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is a common condition characterized by rapid-onset diarrhea, often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, …

AI Scribes Reduce Clinician Burnout By 21%, Improve Well-Being By 30%

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to generate notes to document patient visits was linked to improvements in clinician burnout, as published in JAMA Network Open. Researchers surveyed 1,430 clinicians from 2 different health systems who used ambient documentation technology. They found physicians at Mass General Brigham reported a 21.2% absolute reduction in burnout with the tools, as the proportion of clinicians reporting burnout decreased from 50.6% to 29.4% at 42 days and from 52.6% to 30.7% …

High COVID Positivity in August Sheds Light on Seasonality Trends

According to detailed state-level data collected by Experity across urgent care centers, Texas (30.9%) and Utah (30.8%) are leading the nation in COVID-19 positivity rates through August 18, 2025. Summer’s big picture, dating back to June 1, shows the 7-day positivity rate overall has grown from 5% to 20% for U.S. urgent cares—a rate that is lower than this time last year. Positivity rates in 2024 peaked at 31.3% in August, according to Experity. With …

Larger Health Systems Drive Urgent Care Growth

Adding a new urgent care rooftop represents a significant investment by a health system. At the same time, every new urgent care ideally opens up a reliable referral stream for the institution’s other services to boost patient volume. This has been the prevailing model for health systems, but some markets are now witnessing a shift toward joint ventures and acquisitions rather than new builds, according to a report in Modern Healthcare. Alan Ayers, MBA, MAcc, …

Frequent Rhinovirus May Protect Against COVID

Children often experience less severe symptoms from the SARS-CoV-2 infection, and a study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases found that kids’ frequent rhinovirus infections may be at least one factor that offers protection from both the risk and severity of SARS-CoV-2. Participants in this 6-month study (May 2020-February 2021) who had rhinovirus in the previous 30 days had a 48% lower risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 and, if infected, showed 9.6-fold lower viral loads (p=0.0031). …

So Far, Hospital Closures In 2025 Are Poised To Outpace Last Year

In 2024, a total of 25 U.S. hospitals closed, as reported by Becker’s. Most of them cited changing community needs, rising operational costs, and evolving care models as reasons for ceasing operations. So far for this year, 19 hospitals have already closed, a pace that forecasts more unstable markets and unmet healthcare needs across the United States. Several hospitals included in this ongoing list have shuttered emergency departments, and all have produced job loss among …

Unpaid Medical Bills Will Remain Part of Consumer Credit Reports

A federal judge has overturned a previous Biden administration rule that would have removed about $49 billion in medical debt from consumers’ credit reports. The rule until now had been caught up in court battles. Even so, last year, the 3 major credit bureaus voluntarily said they would exclude medical debts under $500 from their reporting. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) estimated that if implemented, the rule could have erased medical debt from the …

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