Chapel Hill, N.C.,-based UNC Health plans to roll out a new network of freestanding facilities that combine emergency departments and urgent care clinics under one roof.
Five things to know:
1. The model aims to steer patients to the right level of care, easing pressure on overcrowded EDs and lowering costs. Each center will have a full-service emergency department, urgent care clinic, on-site lab and a radiology suite with X-ray and CT capabilities.
“These state-of-the-art facilities will complement the care already delivered through our hospitals and clinics statewide, reduce unnecessary emergency visits, and improve the overall patient experience,” UNC Health Interim CEO Cristy Page, MD, said in an Aug. 14 news release.
2. UNC Health will file certificate-of-need applications in August for its first two locations in Raleigh and Apex, with plans to expand in the coming years.
3. Patients will be assessed upon arrival by an emergency physician, who will direct them to the appropriate care setting within the facility. Those needing follow-up care will be connected with a primary care provider, while patients requiring hospitalization will be admitted to a UNC Health hospital.
4. The model, developed in partnership with Dallas-based Intuitive Health, has been deployed in other states, including Florida, Texas and Kentucky, and is expanding into South Carolina and Virginia.
Intuitive Health CEO Thom Herrmann said the hybrid approach “eliminates the guesswork” for patients deciding between the ER and urgent care while ensuring they only pay “for the level of care they actually need.”
5. UNC Health’s move comes amid an increasingly competitive national market for urgent care, which is becoming central to health systems’ access, cost and market strategies. The U.S. urgent care market is projected to reach $55 billion by 2030, fueled by demand for alternatives to crowded emergency departments and by consumer expectations for care that is “convenient, personal and connected.”
