by Marius Ged, on Feb 15, 2023 9:26:49 AM
Keep up with the latest urgent care news and insights from the industry's trusted legal partner, PIP Recoveries. Here is an overview of the most critical stories in the urgent care field in the state of Florida.
News Stories Affecting Your Practice
1) An Aging Urgent Care Facility on Marco Island Will Be Replaced with a State-of-the-Art Upgrade
After thirty years in operation, Marco Island’s NCH Healthcare System Urgent Care Clinic will be replaced. The project, set to begin this summer, will cost an estimated $18 million, $5 million of which has been donated by Marco residents Barbara and Steve Slaggie.
The new urgent care facility will be 24,000 square feet, with half of that space on the second floor being left empty for future development. The current facility sees about 45 patients per day during most of the year and around 25 per day in the summer months. 18,000 residents live on the island.
Like its predecessor, the new clinic will be operated by Physicians Regional.
“Plans are underway to expand our specialist coverage soon and we look forward to making that announcement. Our Marco Island clinic also offers outpatient rehabilitation and physical therapy bringing convenient care closer to home for those who live on the island,” said the organization’s spokeswoman Brittney Thoman.
Industry Updates
1) CVS Has Invested $100 Million in Installing Carbon Health Centers into Its Retail Stores
The expansion of retail-based urgent care clinics continues with CVS Health’s $100 million investment in Carbon Health, an urgent and primary care provider. In part, the digital health VC fund CVS Health Ventures was interested in Carbon Health because of its unique electronic health record (EHR) system. Specifically, the drugstore giant will add Carbon Health primary/urgent care clinics to a few of its retail stores on a trial basis.
However, CVS has not actually acquired Carbon Health, though the company has shared its intention to acquire a large-scale urgent/primary care provider. The retailer recently lost a bidding war for primary care provider One Medical to Amazon and is considering an over-$10 billion acquisition of Oak Street Health, a primary care operator that serves Medicare patients.
“We see this investment in Carbon as a trial run. If the pilot goes swimmingly, then maybe an acquisition could follow. Or perhaps CVS would be granted the first right of refusal in the event of a Carbon sale,” suggested Insider Intelligence.
2) Patients Struggle to Decide If They Should Use Emergency Rooms or Urgent Care Centers
Patients, especially those sick or injured, often struggle to know whether to visit an urgent care facility or an emergency room. Choosing incorrectly can sometimes lead to financial or healthcare consequences with long-reaching impacts.
“Landing in the wrong setting can lead to higher and unexpected medical bills and increased frustration. Patients often don’t understand what kind of services different settings provide or the level of care they need,” wrote Kaiser Health News.
Deciding whether to visit an urgent care clinic or an ER has increased in complexity in the last half-decade. Specifically, the number of urgent care clinics has grown eight percent annually from 2018 to 2022. What’s more, different urgent care clinics offer different types of care.
Urgent care industry groups are trying to eliminate patient confusion by advertising the types of care they provide, making patients better informed when they need to make decisions.
Growing Your Urgent Care Practice
1) Cyber Attackers Are Increasingly Targeting Small Urgent Care Clinics’ Electronic Medical Records Systems
Cybercriminals are increasingly turning to electronic medical records (EMR) systems to steal significant amounts of patient data. Often, these hackers target single large-scale EMR companies so they can secure data from multiple healthcare facilities and hospitals in one fell swoop.
In the first half of 2022, twenty large-scale EMR hacks were reported, in contrast to only five throughout the entirety of 2021.
Moreover, more cybercriminals are attacking smaller healthcare clinics that are more vulnerable than larger, better-prepared hospital systems. Small specialty clinics comprised 31 percent of attacks in 2021. Attackers also target third-party vendors often used by smaller clinics; these made up eight percent of data breaches in 2022.
“One way to help combat these issues is that companies can leverage machine learning to search for vulnerabilities in their software,” suggested cybersecurity expert Isla Sibanda.
2) Understanding Why Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Claims in Florida Are Often Underpaid or Unpaid
Under PIP insurance regulations, the state of Florida requires insurance companies to pay healthcare providers for treating individuals injured in car accidents. Why, then, is it so common for these companies to pay or underpay healthcare providers for this work?
For one, everyone in no-fault insurance states must carry at least $10,000 of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage. However, because of the high number of automotive accidents, insurance companies are inundated with PIP claims. In turn, healthcare clinics also submit many claims, so they often don’t have time to follow up on unpaid or underpaid claims.
If you’re running into an issue of insurance companies failing to fully pay out your insurance claims, PIP Recoveries can help. Contact us at 561-995-1966 or through our website.
