Urgent care clinics are pushing pain pills that do little to treat conditions, new study finds

Urgent care clinics are reportedly pushing pills that do little to treat patients’ medical conditions.

Researchers said that a substantial number of antibiotic, glucocorticoid, and opioid prescriptions were filled despite being deemed inappropriate given the patients' diagnoses — potentially resulting in harm.

Antibiotics are commonly used to treat infections, glucocorticoids are steroids that can treat arthritis and asthma, and opioids are prescribed to treat pain. America’s opioid epidemic, which has led to thousands of deaths, has been tied to an increase in painkiller prescriptions.

"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,” Dr. Shirley Cohen-Mekelburg, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan Medical School, said in a statement. “Our findings reveal that this trend of inappropriate prescribing includes other classes of drugs — including glucocorticoids — and a variety of conditions.”

The reason for these findings, they suggest, is tied to the knowledge of clinic doctors, demand from patients, and a lack of an information system to support the clinicians’ decisions.

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Source: The Independent, 23 July 2025