Urgent Care Often Hands Out Inappropriate Prescriptions, Study Finds

Urgent care clinics are handing out fistfuls of antibiotics, steroids and opioids for conditions these drugs won’t help, a new study says.

“Previous studies had shown that patients continue to receive antibiotics for diagnoses where they may not be indicated, such as for a viral respiratory infection, especially in urgent care settings,” said co-lead researcher Dr. Shirley Cohen-Mekelburg, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School.

“Our findings reveal that this trend of inappropriate prescribing includes other classes of drugs — including glucocorticoids — and a variety of conditions,” Cohen-Mekelburg added in a news release.

For the study, published July 22 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed health care data for more than 22.4 million urgent care visits that occurred between 2018 and 2022.

More than 12% of those visits resulted in a prescription for antibiotics, 9% in a steroid prescription and 1% in a scrip for opioids.

The research team then looked to see how many prescriptions were handed out for health conditions the drugs aren’t meant to treat.

Among the inappropriate prescriptions, researchers found:

Antibiotics prescribed for more than 30% of patients with ear infections, nearly 46% of patients with urinary symptoms and 15% of patients with bronchitis.
Steroids prescribed for nearly 24% of patients with a sinus infection, 41% of patients with bronchitis and 12% of patients with upper respiratory infections.
Opioids prescribed for nearly 5% of patients with muscle pain, more than 6% of patients with abdominal pain or GI symptoms and 4% of patients with sprains or strains.

These results jibe with recent studies showing that urgent care is the most common type of health care visit to result in inappropriate prescriptions for antibiotics to treat viral respiratory infections, researchers said.

The drugs are likely being handed out because the urgent care staff doesn’t know better, patients are demanding specific meds and no one is providing back-up support for decisions about prescribing, researchers said.

The consequences may be far-reaching: Antibiotic-resistant bacteria like MRSA have become a growing threat to health, due to the overuse of antibiotics.

Likewise, America’s opioid crisis has been fueled by too many painkiller prescriptions doled out for dicey reasons.

Researchers concluded that drug stewardship programs are needed to make sure urgent care clinics are handing out the right drugs for the right conditions.

“Reducing inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics, glucocorticoids and opioids will require a multifaceted approach,” Cohen-Mekelburg said. “Providers at urgent centers would benefit from greater support and feedback in making these decisions.”

More information

The Mayo Clinic has more on urgent care.

SOURCES: University of Michigan, news release, July 21, 2025; Annals of Internal Medicine, July 21, 2025

Source: HealthDay