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October 20, 2008
by www.urgentcareamerica.net
Urgent Care
Patient Services - What is Urgent Care?
Urgent care is an emerging medical delivery concept that is finding growing acceptance as a primary care option to a wide range of individuals seeking convenient, cost effective and quality primary care.
Largely, urgent care providers specialize in treating a disease, illness, or injury when presented on an episodic basis. The disease, illness or injury which is treated in the urgent care setting is usually acute, and with treatment, is fully corrected in sever to fourteen days.
The services are provided seven days each week, on average 13 hours each day, and an appointment is not required. UCA centers are staffed primarily by physicians with assistancefrom nursing staff and physician extenders such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Because of the focus on only episodic problems, the UCA practitioners do not provide obtetric services, in-hospital admission, long term managment of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, or other conditions requiring long term medical managment.
UCA practitioners provide an affordable and convenient gateway to the traditional medical practice community. When the medical encounter and examination indicates the need for a more extensive evaluation and possible long term management plan, the patient is referred to the appropriate specialist.
Urgent Care medicine is one of the fastest growing practices in the United States. In fact, there are more urgent care practices opening than Managed Care Plans. The demand is driven by the eighty five percent of the population who are healthy. They are medical consumers who want treatment quickly, want it convenient and affordable. Many physicians are moving into the urgent care medical practice. Physicians from traditional family practice, with all the demands to be on call, travel between an office, hospital, and nursing home, and are looking for a change from this demanding schedule. Emergency room physicians, as well, who sometimes experience "burn out" between the ages of 42-47 and are looking for a way to use their triage skills and reduce some of their stress. These physicians, both independent, and in concert with hospitals are opening new centers everyday.
- All urgent care medicine is office-based.
- Urgent Care Medicine specializes in the treatment of any disease, illness, and injury, which is presented by otherwise healthy consumers.
- Urgent Care Medicine provides services to 85% of the population who do not suffer from a long-term chronic disease, or require the services of a hospital.
- 90% or more of all encounters at urgent care centers are episodic and acute, including minor lacerations, fractures, bumps, sore throats, ear infection and other "just don't feel good" conditions.
- 87% of all urgent care centers nationally provide a wide range or Workcomp, Pre-placement services, DOT exams, BAT testing, etc.
- 68% of all urgent care centers nationally provide acute on-site physical therapy. This is a very effectice case managment tool for WorkComp.
- 97% of all urgent care centers nationally provide pre-packaged prescription services. (I.e.. average of 28 frequently used drugs.) This may vary by State laws.
- 100% of all urgent care centers nationally have X-ray departments for basic radiology covering fracture care chest exams, etc. State licensing regulate the delivery of this service.
- 98% of all urgent care centers nationally have a CLIA level II laboratory department for routine blood test and other diagnostic procedures. Federal laws regulated the delivery of these services.
- 100% of all urgent care centers nationally have life support capabilities but do not advertise this service to the public. People who present to the ACC with life threatening situations are immediately transferred to the Emergency Departments or referred to the 911 EMS system.
- 100% of all urgent care centers nationally are licensed to practice medicine by the State in which the practice is located. No other certification or accreditation is required.
- 95% of all urgent care centers nationally are open seven days each week, 13 hours a day on average and require no appointment.
- Less than 5% of all urgent care centers nationally do traditional primary care. Those centers that do are located in service areas, which have a limited number of providers.
- 95% of all urgent care centers nationally, physicians do not have and do not require hospital-damitting privileges. Patients requiring this care are referred to their own PMD or are referred to a local PMD for appropriate follow up and continued care.
- 95% of all urgent care centers nationally will see managed care patients, traditional insurance, and private pay. These centers offer the customer discounts for cash payment when the service is not billed to a third party.
- 96% of all urgent care centers nationally use a fee for service system of payment. This provides for a specific measurement of cost, benefit, and value in purchasing ACC services. Other forms of reimbursement vary by contract and from state to state.
- 60% of all urgent care centers nationally are privately owned by physicians and their owners. Hospitals account for the remaining ownership. Private ownership is increasing while hospital ownership is declining. Variations occur from year to year.
- 97% of all urgent care centers nationally are staffed by full time physicians and medical staff.
- 70% of all urgent care centers nationally physicians are board certified in Family Practice or Emergency Medicine. A state and federal license to practice medicine is required for practice in an urgent care center as in all private practices of medicine. Medical staff is comprised of RN's, LPN's, Medical Assistants, Lab Technologists, X-ray Techologists and other medical support personnel. The configuration of the staffing is in accordance with state laws and varies from state to state with within different community's standards of care.
- 100% of all urgent care centers nationally have the physician available at all times. Some variation of this may be seen in the very rural remote areas where Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants are present.
- 50% of all urgent care centers nationally are freestanding clinic buildings.
- 50% are in retail shopping centers. The sites vary by state and group development preference. All are routinely convenient and easy to locate and utilize.
- Urgent care centers nationally differ from traditional Physicians offices with procedure rooms for lacerations and fractures, Radiology department for x-ray services, laboratory for lab services and onsite physical therapy. While some traditional physician practices may have these facilities, it is more the exception. It is the rule for urgent care centers nationally to have these service spaces available. The average urgent care centers nationally is between 3,600 square feet and 12,000 square feet. The variation is based on common practice and the extent of services offered.
- Extended Office Hours is care provided by a traditional primary care practice that has chosen to be open a few hours in the morning, a few hours in the evening and a few hours in Saturday and Sunday. These hours are added to the normal 8 - 5 appointment based practice as a "convenience" to the patient. These hours are usually covered by a part time staff but may on occasion be covered by the primary care physician. Extended Office Hours will continue to be a term loosely applied to the industry. As the industry and its providers continue to advance, terminology will have a more consistent meaning.
Footnote:
These statistics were taken from information provided by the National Association For Ambulatory Care (NAFAC) and represent results that were compiled by a random survey of AUC operations throughout the United States. The results in any area of the United States may vary as notes. The standard deviation is +/- 5%.
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