The urgent care industry is poised for more expansion driven by the Affordable Care Act, hospital closings, primary care doctor shortage, high Emergency Room costs. Industry sources expect a steady flow of patients seeking regular care (vs. acute care) to flow into urgent care centers within the next 5 to 10 years.
Dr. Kenneth Palestrant, founder of Physicians Immediate Care in Florida, recognizes this trend. Approximately, 20% of patients use his five centers to receive primary care. With ACA implementation, Dr. Palestrant expects more hiring of nurse-practitioner and physician assistants in urgent care to address the gap in primary care. >>Read more
Source: MedCity News
Envision Healthcare Corporation successfully debuted on Wall Street with its initial public offering. The Colorado-based company is a provider of ambulance services for local governments, facility-based physician services (ER, anesthesiology, hospitalist/inpatient care, etc.) as well as patient care across various settings for the chronically ill. The company, formerly EMSC Corporation, had been expanding via new contracts and physician practice acquisition.
Envision, which operates American Medical Response (AMR), EmCare Holdings and Evolution Evolution Health, LLC, is expected to thrive in the era of the Accountable Care Act. >>Read more
In the words of Dictionary.com:
ef·fi·cien·cy [ih-fish-uhn-see]: accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with
a minimum expenditure of time and effort.
Efficiency...We’re always trying to
improve upon it whether at home or work.
The weekly PPS multibriefs newsletter recently offered key efficiency tips for rehab therapy
owners - which can clearly be leveraged by other healthcare-related clinics.
Quick Tips:
- Establish a process and share with staff & patients
- Keep traffic flowing.
- Avoid handoffs: one focused staffer best.
- Huddle up.. review daily schedules with staff
- Create a culture of timeliness. Respect time of others.
- Find your groove...what’s your best work style?
- Get techy. Today’s devices are
time savers.
Unless you've been under a rock, you know that the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act in late June. Analysts expect the ruling to spur consolidation of health care companies looking to cash in on an increase in Medicaid enrollment. Wellpoint led the way with its $4.9B acquisition of Amerigroup. Antoine Gara's article (Health Care: Obamacare M&A Trumps Weak Earnings Outlook) suggests Humana, Cigna, Aetna and UnitedHealth could follow suit. Recent comments regarding Centene may have elevated it to the takeover target frontrunner.
