Practice Management
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 …
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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, …
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Under the extreme temperatures in Maricopa County, Arizona, 35 heat-related deaths have been confirmed this year so far by the county medical examiner’s office. However, the real-world total is possibly much higher, according to an analysis by The Guardian. The state is on track to witness its hottest August on record with temperatures hitting at least 110°F nearly every day so far. In Philadelphia, 5 heat-related deaths have been confirmed, and Maryland’s Department of Health …
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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). …
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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 …
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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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GoHealth Urgent Care has announced another health system joint venture, this time with Community Health Network in central Indiana. As part of the deal, 6 existing Community MedCheck urgent care centers will transition later this year to the Community-GoHealth Urgent Care brand, according to a press release. Future growth through new rooftops is also part of the long-term strategy. Earlier this month, GoHealth announced a similar joint venture for 81 UPMC centers in Pennsylvania and …
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It seems that artificial intelligence (AI) models can detect early acute systemic inflammation in response to viral respiratory tract infections (VRTIs) through biometric data collected from wearable devices, according to a small study published in Lancet Digital Health. In the prospective study, 55 healthy adults aged 18–59 years were monitored before and after receiving a live attenuated influenza vaccine, which simulated real-world infection. Participants continuously wore a smart ring, smart watch, and smart shirt, which …
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A new analysis examining survey data from 37,000 physicians across all healthcare specialties found the average physician reported a 3.7% increase in pay, following a nearly 6% increase from the same survey just a year ago, conducted by physician-networking platform Doximity. The perpetual gender gap—in which women physicians are paid significantly less than their male counterparts—shows no sign of catching up. In this year’s survey, there is a 26% gap between women and men after …
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Following their announcement last fall to enter into a joint venture, GoHealth Urgent Care and UPMC health system have now cut the ribbons on a number of rebranded centers in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, bringing their network of urgent cares to a total of 81 centers across the 2 states. The partnership marked the initial entry of GoHealth in the western Pennsylvania market, and as part of the deal, UPMC’s existing urgent care centers were …
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