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What is Urgent Care Medicine?
The urgent care specialty is a comparatively new hybrid in the
field of ambulatory (outpatient) medicine and is
part of a growing trend in this country for healthcare providers
to offer more affordable alternatives to crowded hospital settings
by meeting patient demands of convenience and efficiency, while
delivering safer, higher quality medical care.
Our urgent care facility is
open seven days a week with convenient daytime and evening hours
for patients seeking immediate treatment for minor illnesses and
injuries as well as a wide variety of diagnostic and screening
services including basic lab and x-rays.
In our urgent care centers, patients can be seen and treated,
often in less than an hour, for injuries like minor lacerations,
sprains, simple fractures, animal bites, sports injuries and other
discomforts like sore throats, earaches, asthma attacks,
migraines, urinary tract infections or the flu. You do not need an
appointment to use an MD Now Medical Center.
Most, if not all, MD Now Medical Center's services are offered at
a dramatic savings to patients, employers, insurance companies and
other healthcare consumers over the costs of hospital emergency
departments or hospital based "fast-track" services.
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What's
in an Urgent Care Center?
 Our
urgent care center differs from a typical primary care
physician’s office in that it has procedure rooms for stitching lacerations and
splinting bone fractures, a radiology department for X-ray
services and other diagnostic imaging equipment, and a laboratory for
onsite lab tests like quick strep tests, bloodwork, tetanus shots,
cholesterol testing and the like. We provide breathing
treatments, high blood pressure stabilization, ear lavage and IV
therapy. We also complete school and work physicals, immigration
physicals, FAA pilot flight physicals, DOT physicals and
other examination services.
Our urgent care center also offers on-the-job injury services to
surrounding businesses and industries, hotels, restaurants, and
office buildings. We provide a wide range of occupational medicine
services, including pre-employment physicals, drug screens, and
Work Comp Back-to-Work programs.
In
short,
we are ER professionals in a private setting.
Although we can stabilize many illnesses, such as diabetes,
asthma, hypertension and other diseases of aging, our urgent care
facility is not designed to provide long term management of them. We
do not accept ambulance traffic such as motor vehicle accidents,
heart attacks and strokes.
What
can I expect at an MD Now
Medical Center?
MD
Now Medical Center is staffed with a highly qualified team of
licensed physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners.
Most physicians are board certified in Emergency Medicine or
Family Practice Medicine and have many years of training and
experience in dealing with a wide range of health problems. Our
physicians and our physician extenders are dedicated to providing
you excellent medical care in a caring, respectful manner.
What
happens when I leave the
Urgent
Care
Center?
You
will be given complete discharge instructions and notified about
any abnormal lab work or 
X-rays. With your permission, a record of your treatment
will also be faxed to your primary care physician, who can provide any necessary follow-up care. If
you desire, any prescriptions the medical staff have ordered can be relayed to your pharmacy
ahead of time, so that they may be ready by the time you reach your pharmacy. (We are
conveniently located next to Walgreen's Pharmacy, with a CVS Pharmacy across the street).
What
forms of insurance and payment do you accept?
MD
Now Medical Center offers reasonable clinic rates. We accept most
health plans, cash, personal checks, and all major credit cards.
We use
a simple fee for service system, accepting cash, credit card and
most private insurance. Payment of fees for MD Now Medical
Centers' services is due on the date that service is provided. We
make every effort to be a participating provider with as many
insurance carriers as possible. Even when we are not contracted
with your insurance carrier, we'll still see you and provide you
with the necessary paperwork to return to your insurance carrier
for reimbursement.
Work-related
Injuries: If your illness or injury did arise out of or
occurred in the course of your employment, you should provide this
information to the front desk staff at the time of your first
visit to initiate billing of your Workers Compensation carrier.
 
Will
my insurance cover at MD Now
Medical
Centers?
We are
providers for Humana, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Aetna, Vista, South Care,
United Healtcare, Medicare
and
most other major insurance companies - we even accept most travel insurance. Even when we are not contracted with your insurance carrier, we'll still see you and provide you with the necessary paperwork to return to your insurance carrier for reimbursement. Call today to see if we are covered by your plan!
Not
only do most insurance companies pay for services rendered at an
urgent care center, most actually encourage their use through the
use of lowered co-payments for urgent care centers as opposed to
emergency departments. That's because most insurance companies now recognize the
significant cost savings benefit
of the urgent care center over hospital based services.
IN
THE WORDS OF ONE MAJOR INSURANCE COMPANY -
"Don't
Let the Urgent Care Sign Fool You!"
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"All centers are not created
equal, and the difference can affect your wallet. To reduce your
costs, choose a free-standing urgent care center, one that isn't
located in a hospital. These facilities are well equipped to
provide medical care for minor illnesses or injuries. The only
difference is the location. Your copayment and other costs could
be a lot higher if you choose an urgent care center in a
hospital." |
| -Humana Insurance Company |
Why MD
Now Urgent
Care
Centers
?
No Appointment Necessary. Open Evenings and Weekends.
Studies show that fewer than 20 percent of the population even
have what they could call a personal physician. Of those who do,
less than 12 percent of the people who need a doctor are able to
get an appointment the same day they need one.
Lack
of access to the primary provider, or no relationship at all with
a primary care provider are both factors which make the urgent
care center an attractive alternative to scheduling an appointment
with a primary care physician when episodic health care is needed.
At
MD Now Medical Center, our patients
appreciate getting top quality medical care during our convenient
hours, 365 days a year, open evenings and weekends, with no
appointments necessary.
Relaxed,
Healing Environment. No Long Waits!
In a recent survey by the Schumacher
Group, one out of every six hospital administrators admitted they
would not use their own hospital's emergency department should
they be injured!2
In Palm Beach County's noisy, crowded hospital emergency rooms,
consumers with minor injuries are forced to wait for hours in
discomfort while overworked medical staff focus their attention on
the sickest patients – car accident/trauma injuries, stroke,
heart attack victims, psychiatric patients and nursing home
transfers.
According
to the latest CDC survey, the average patient spends three hours
in the emergency department! Recent studies show this situation is
worsening. Visits to emergency rooms in the United States are up
20 percent over the past decade, even while the number of
emergency departments has shrunk by 15 percent.1
During the same time period, the waiting time for non-critical
visits increased by 33 percent.
Numerous
studies have now shown that 70
and 80 percent of all emergency room visits are of a non-critical
nature and could be handled in a less costly urgent care setting.
Where will you go with your next injury?
At MD Now Medical Center, we offer a clean, comfortable and state
of the art healing environment where most patients are seen,
treated and released in less than an hour.
Our new facility on the corner of Lantana Road and Military Trail
in Palm Beach County features Feng Shui design, a relaxing
spa-like atmosphere and the ambiance of nature throughout - all
designed to promote wellness and reduce the stress and anxiety
often associated with illness and injury.
And
No Inflated Emergency Room Bills!
About half of all emergency services go uncompensated, according
to CMS. Who makes up the difference?
YOU DO! The average emergency department bill is $850!
Hospitals have long been known for their practice of covering
their costs for charity care and bad debt by inflating the charges
for their patients who pay. In the hospital industry, this is
known as "cost shifting". While it's true that the
practice of cost shifting enables many uninsured individuals to
receive medical care, it implicitly raises the costs of healthcare
for those who are insured and those who must pay out of pocket.
At MD Now urgent care centers, we pledge never to raise the price
of your medical care to compensate for other people who won't pay
their bills!
And
did you know hospital based "Fast Track" or
"Urgent Care" units use the same billing system as the
ER? Although they may be quicker, they offer no cost
savings over traditional ER based expenses and are often three
to four times the cost of an urgent care visit!
At MD Now Medical Centers, we offer safe, conscientious medical
care of the non-life threatening injury or illness. We
use a simple fee for service system, and our fees average
from one third to one fifth the cost of an emergency room visit
- with a much higher level of attention than you would receive at
your local emergency room.
How much is your time worth?
Urgent
Care Benefits to You:
• Seen promptly, most patients are treated and released in
less than an hour.
• Your copay is half the price of most ER's!
• Open evenings and weekends, 365 days a year.
• High tech computer office system with fully
digitalized X-Ray reduces wait time,
improves efficiency.
• Sprains, strains, and fractures are x-rayed on
the premises.
• No appointment necessary.
Call
ahead for special service! We'll reserve you a spot in our system,
with absolutely no penalty or cancellation fee should you be
unable to make it in for your visit!
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