New research published in the Journal of Urgent Care Medicine evaluates whether point-of-care ultrasound can be used effectively and sustainably in urgent care centers.

The study was coauthored by Dr. Josh Russell, MSc, chief medical officer of the Minneapolis-based consulting firm UCP Merchant Medicine.

The retrospective observational analysis reviewed 10,000 randomly selected adult patient encounters drawn from 62 urgent care centers across four states. The visits were selected from a larger pool of more than 380,000 encounters between June 2023 and November 2024. Researchers found that 922 encounters, or 9.2%, would have been appropriate for point-of-care ultrasound use.
The paper, titled “Algorithmic Prediction of Utilization and Financial Viability Modeling for Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) in Adult Urgent Care Centers,” assessed both clinical applicability and financial modeling. The authors concluded that POCUS, long established in emergency departments, can be clinically appropriate and financially viable in urgent care settings with typical patient volumes.

Unlike traditional X-ray systems, handheld ultrasound devices are portable and do not use ionizing radiation. The study notes that device costs have declined in recent years, with some handheld systems priced near $5,000. Some platforms also incorporate AI features intended to guide image acquisition.

The findings come as urgent care utilization continues to rise. A recent report from the Health Care Cost Institute found that visits to urgent care centers increased 34.5% between 2018 and 2022, while spending in those settings rose 50% over the same period.

“Having worked in urgent care for more than 15 years, I've been an advocate for POCUS' use for much of that time, and our research findings support my long-held belief that POCUS adoption would enhance clinical operations while being revenue neutral or positive in urgent care centers with typical volumes,” Russell said.

UCP Merchant Medicine provides advisory services and clinical software to urgent care operators and health systems nationwide.

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