Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health is pivoting from urgent care to virtual care in South Carolina, The Post and Courier.
Novant is selling 36 of its South Carolina urgent care centers to Greenville, S.C.-based Prisma Health. The deal is expected to close Nov. 1. In a statement, Novant said it is “transitioning away from traditional urgent care locations” as patient needs and preferences change, according to the Oct. 4 story. It is expanding virtual care to 24/7 availability and adding specialty care where possible.
Novant acquired the centers in November 2024, when it bought UCI Medical Affiliates from Columbia, S.C.-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina. That deal included 52 urgent care centers and 20 physical therapy practices. The physical therapy services housed at some of the sites are not part of the Prisma deal, and their future is unclear.
The virtual push builds on a model Novant launched in July with AI-enabled care company K Health. Patients in North Carolina and South Carolina can book virtual primary care around the clock through NovantHealth.org and MyChart.
Before each visit, a K Health digital assistant asks patients about their symptoms and the reason for the visit, then sends a summary to the clinician. Novant also introduced PatientGPT, a clinical AI tool integrated into the medical record. It answers patients’ health questions and connects them with Novant clinicians for virtual visits or in-person appointments.
“Access to care shouldn’t depend on the time of day,” Sanjay Gupta, Novant’s executive vice president and chief transformation officer, said when the model launched.
Novant is one of at least 10 health systems offering 24/7 virtual care with AI triage, along with Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham and New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health.
