Why urgent care is losing STI revenue and how rapid testing keeps it in-house

This Industry Perspective by Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc, challenges urgent care leaders to rethink sexual health testing as a year-round service line, not simply a send-out testing workflow. STI testing demand is already coming through urgent care doors, but traditional reference lab workflows can move revenue outside the clinic, delay treatment decisions, and limit opportunities for same-visit care and patient follow-up. The piece explores how rapid, point-of-care sexual health testing workflows can help urgent care operators keep more testing value inside the clinic, support more complete same-visit care, reduce dependence on seasonal respiratory volume, and build a stronger, more sustainable service line around demand they are already seeing.