State's
urgent care centres fail to relieve ER patient loads |
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As patients with minor injuries
or illnesses wait hours to be seen at packed emergency rooms,
urgent care centres that could get them in and out the door at fraction of the
cost are often waiting for more patients. |
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The disparity frustrates many
urgent care providers who got into the business assuming the market was ripe
for more places offering relief from crowded ERs for things like antibiotics
and stitches for minor injuries. |
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A report released in April by
St. Luke's Health Initiatives found that about half of all emergency room
visits to four Phoenix area hospitals could have been addressed in a primary
care setting such as a family doctor's office or urgent care centre. |
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"We haven't been able to
get any recognition that we're an industry out there," Carlene Danis,
president of the Ambulatory and Urgent Care Association of Arizona, told the
East Valley Tribune. |
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Having just formed in January,
the association is trying to boost awareness of urgent care and overcome
obstacles faced by the industry. |
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But while some urgent care centres
are busy, others said they have not eased the flow of patients to hospital
emergency rooms. That's mainly because
patients don't know urgent care is an option. |
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Last September Blue Cross Blue
Shield of Arizona promoted urgent care with a mailing to 100,000 members in in
Maricopa County. They received maps showing the urgent care centres Blue Cross
contracts within their area. The company also is conducting a pilot program to
see if expanded hours and increased promotion of a North Phoenix NextCare will
result in higher patient volumes there. |
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"Everybody knows health
care costs are rising," said Regena Frieden, a Blue Cross Blue Shield
spokeswoman. "Whatever we can do to lower costs helps." |
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Many urgent care providers are
trying to survive against low reimbursement rates from health insurers, high
operating costs and image problems. |
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According to the Arizona
Department of Health Services, 10 licensed urgent care facilities have closed
since Arizona began licensing urgent care centres in 2000. There are 74 urgent
care centres licensed statewide. |
"It's certainly not an
easy business, by any stretch of the imagination," said Dr. John Shufeldt,
chief executive officer of NextCare, which operates 10 urgent care centres.
"We are here as another safety valve in a system that is overloaded."
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