A new study has found that 17 percent of all visits to EDs could be redirected to retail clinics or urgent care centers, saving $4.4 billion, according to a release by the RAND Corp.
The RAND study found 13.4 percent of ED visits could be treated at an urgent care center and 13.7 percent in a retail clinic, but those amounts fall to 9 and 8 percent when typical hours of operation are factored in.
Retail clinics in pharmacies or grocery stores are staffed by nurse practitioners and treat a limited range of health conditions such as sore throats or urinary tract infections. Urgent care centers are freestanding facilities that are staffed by physicians, treat a broader range of conditions, and offer onsite x-rays and laboratory testing.
The RAND researchers analyzed profiles of visitors to retail medical clinics and urgent care centers and compared them to profiles of patients visiting EDs in 2006.
Read the RAND release on EDs.
Read more on EDs, urgent care centers and retail clinics.
-Controversial Redirection of Patients From ED Deemed a Success at University of Chicago as Financial Results Improve
-Virginia Hospital Showing ED Wait Times on Electronic Billboards
-Wisconsin Health System Setting Up Retail Healthcare Clinics for Other Systems Across the Nation
-Jim Nolan at AtlantiCare in New Jersey Explains How His System Won a Baldrige Award
The RAND study found 13.4 percent of ED visits could be treated at an urgent care center and 13.7 percent in a retail clinic, but those amounts fall to 9 and 8 percent when typical hours of operation are factored in.
Retail clinics in pharmacies or grocery stores are staffed by nurse practitioners and treat a limited range of health conditions such as sore throats or urinary tract infections. Urgent care centers are freestanding facilities that are staffed by physicians, treat a broader range of conditions, and offer onsite x-rays and laboratory testing.
The RAND researchers analyzed profiles of visitors to retail medical clinics and urgent care centers and compared them to profiles of patients visiting EDs in 2006.
Read the RAND release on EDs.
Read more on EDs, urgent care centers and retail clinics.
-Controversial Redirection of Patients From ED Deemed a Success at University of Chicago as Financial Results Improve
-Virginia Hospital Showing ED Wait Times on Electronic Billboards
-Wisconsin Health System Setting Up Retail Healthcare Clinics for Other Systems Across the Nation
-Jim Nolan at AtlantiCare in New Jersey Explains How His System Won a Baldrige Award