Besides their convenience, urgent care centers attract patients because their fees at least half those charged at a hospital ERs. Those lower fees have drawn the attention of hospitals and insurers — both of which increasingly see the facilities as a way to hold down costs and boost their bottom lines.
As health-care costs spiral ever upward, hospitals race to build free-standing emergency rooms and expand existing ERs. Hospitals say it makes business sense, but critics say the hospital arms race is too costly for businesses, government and families.
In-store medical clinics like those at Walmart – having established a beachhead with relatively healthy patients looking for convenient, low-cost care for simple problems – are eyeing a bigger prize, the millions of Americans with costly illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.
Walmart — the nation’s largest retailer and biggest private employer — wants to begin to offer a range of primary care services including basic prevention to management of chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
Komen for the Cure and possible link between breast cancer and BPA. Steering ER regulars to primary care. And health reform will bring a surge in Medicaid patients–which states ready?
UW Medicine’s latest Neighborhood Clinic will open in Ravenna across the street from University Village. Open House, Saturday, October 1st. Doors open, Monday, October 3rd.
Medicaid officials in Washington state are so concerned by hospitals’ ER marketing that they have issued rules making it harder for hospitals to qualify for Medicaid bonus payments if they promote their ER for primary care.
Can school-based clinics undermine the parent-child relationships and interfere with the child’s relationship with his or her primary care provider?
Under this model, primary care doctors manage all of the patient’s care and coordinate with specialists to improve quality and reduce costs.
Facility located at 1000 Auburn Way S open Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 8:00pm; Saturday and Sunday, 8:00am to 4:00pm.
Fewer than half of primary care physicians for adults talk to their patients about diet, exercise and weight management consistently.
A checklist of five things doctors should not do to improve the quality of care.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Seattle Times Health News
Experts divided over recommendation to screen children for cholesterol
Some clinicians say universal screening is an important tool to help identify children who are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol and to pinpoint others who could benefit from treatment. Others express concerns that screening may do more harm than good.
People in state high-risk insurance plans often feel left behind
The federal health law set up new plans that are cheaper and more comprehensive than the older ones run by states but consumers need to go without insurance for six months to qualify.
Peeking in on your doctor’s notes
Although federal law guarantees patients the right to examine and get copies of their medical records, providers haven’t always made it easy to do so. But the movement to give patients direct access to their health information has picked up steam, and policymakers have encouraged it as a way to empower patients to help manage their health and their medical care.
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