Practice Management
Urgent Care people would rather drive change than reactively manage its aftereffects. The same is true of all of us who lead the Urgent Care Association (UCA), College of Urgent Care Medicine (CUCM), Urgent Care College of Physicians (UCCOP), Urgent Care Foundation (UCF), Commission on Ambulatory and Urgent Care Quality (CAUCQ), and our regional chapters. To drive change, you must evolve fast enough to stay ahead, but evolving is usually a messy business. That’s been …
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In cases of cardiac arrest associated with an opioid overdose, outcomes may be improved if bystander CPR is administered that includes both mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing as well as chest compressions, according to a large cohort study of 10,923 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) cases in British Columbia. As published in JAMA Network Open, researchers investigated the impact of bystander CPR techniques on neurologic outcomes, including among opioid-associated OHCA (OA-OHCA) cases. Of the 1,343 OA-OHCA cases studied, …
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OPINION PIECE by Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc, President of Urgent Care Consultants and Senior Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. I’ve recently become aware of “dealmakers” pitching large future payouts for urgent care practices, but only if you agree to sell your practice now. If you’ve received one of these solicitations, it’s important to understand the implications: A stake in a future portfolio sale is illiquid and speculative because there’s no guarantee …
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A new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis ranking states according to the number of emergency department (ED) visits found that West Virginia had the highest number of ED visits (596 per 1,000), while Nevada had the fewest (226 per 1,000) in 2023. The organization analyzed the most recent available community hospital data from the 1999-2023 American Hospital Association Annual Survey and compared it to population reports from the Census Bureau. Below are the top 10 states …
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Among the 1,197 confirmed measles cases in the United States so far this year, about 3% have occurred in people who received 2 doses of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and 2% in those who received 1 dose, according to an update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Now showing up in 35 states, measles cases have been confirmed in 347 people under the age of 5 years, 446 cases in …
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Cannabis use among adults is rising, which emerging literature shows also causes added concern for negative health effects. This month in a health letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers found the prevalence of past-month cannabis use among older adults increased significantly from 4.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.9%-5.9%) in 2021 to 7.0% (95% CI, 6.2%-8.0%) in 2023. The study included 15,689 adults aged 65 years or older. Additionally, a separate retrospective study involving 6 …
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In Louisiana, North Oaks Health System has acquired 2 new urgent care rooftops. By adding the former Lake After Hours Urgent Care centers to its network, North Oaks now has a total of 4 urgent cares, according to its website. The centers are open every day from 7AM to 8PM and accept most major insurance plans, Medicare, Medicaid, and self-pay. System stats: With more than 3,000 employees, North Oaks is one of the area’s largest …
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In response to some public criticism, the Cleveland Clinic last week re-engineered a controversial policy that would have required patients to pay insurance co-pays upfront or risk having their appointments canceled on the spot. Initially set to begin June 1, the policy faced backlash from patient advocates and city officials, who warned the pay-first requirement could limit access to care for low-income families. The original pay-first policy excluded Medicaid and traditional Medicare enrollees as well …
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A recent survey reveals that scheduling a physician appointment now takes an average of 31 days—a 19% increase from 2022 and a 48% rise since 2004. Conducted in early 2025 by AMN Healthcare, the survey included 1,391 physician offices across 15 major U.S. metropolitan cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, focusing on 6 medical specialties. The findings highlight community challenges for patients looking to access timely care. Wait times vary by specialty. For …
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A 13-year-old boy presents to urgent care after “rolling” his left foot. He explains that he tripped on a cement curb while riding his skateboard. He has foot and ankle pain that is worse with weight. An x-ray is ordered. Review the image and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the following page.
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