Clinics take Next Level urgent care
Juliet Breeze, a Houston physician, took her son to the hospital on a next level urgent care weekend and was stunned at the cost of the treatment.
She says, “We received excellent care but a high-priced bill.” “From my own experience, the care I received was a fraction of what was charged to me.” As a businessperson and doctor, I was aware that others would be’stung’ if they made the same costly healthcare mistakes as I was.
Dr. Breeze has seen firsthand the rising advisorhealth cost of medical care at “hospital pricing” after having previously run a multi-location ortho practice called Richmond Bone & Joint Clinic.
In 2013, Dr. Breeze founded Next Level Urgent Care. She was aware that healthcare costs are increasing and she knew this.
Clinics are a great alternative to hospitalization for non-life-threatening conditions. These services are quicker and on average five to ten times cheaper than an emergency room visit. They are able to accept most major insurance companies, including Medicare and Medicaid. A typical copay is $25-$75, as opposed to $150-$500 at the emergency room.
There are 15 locations in the Houston area that can be reached from 9 to 9 pm seven days a week. Clinics in Champions and Copperfield, Long Meadows, Copperfields, Copperfields, Sienna Plantation and Sugar Land all open at 7 a.m. The clinics close on Christmas Day and Thanksgiving.
Dr. Breeze says that with more parents working, it is difficult to get a child to the doctor in time for their workday. For health issues that aren’t truly emergencies, emergency rooms are becoming more popular. Patients have become so accustomed to using ERs, that insurance companies have begun shifting the costs of such healthcare to patients.
She also points out that most carriers charge higher copays or deductibles for ER services than they do for urgent care or office visits.
What about retail clinics? These are often found in grocery stores and drugstores. Although they are a partial solution to the problem, Dr. Breeze admits that they do not have vital equipment such as X-ray rooms or licensed technicians. They also lack services like stitches and IV fluids.
Dr. Breeze discovered that her and her team could also help with employer healthcare needs. They were quickly able to efficiently handle work injuries, pre-employment physical exams, and other services required by employers for their employees. Next Level was chosen by the County of Fort Bend in 2015 to provide a clinic at no cost for employees. After their success in Fort Bend, Montgomery County, Brazoria County and the Houston Independent Schools District selected Next Level to provide on-site medical care on their campuses.
Next Level’s first CareXtend Clinic was launched for Goose Creek ISD this month. This clinic combines the advantages of onsite care with the cost savings and convenience of virtual medicine.
CareXtend Clinics offer single-room services and are staffed by a “Care Concierge”, who can assist off-site doctors during the physical exam using state-of the-art digital diagnostic equipment. The medical provider can Health Advice join the visit via video link to save money. However, unlike traditional telemedicine visits, these visits include vital signs, complete physical exams, lab draws, as well as other routine in-office testing.
Next Level Urgent Care will be launching several new projects this year. These include selling pre-paid bundle savings plans to both individuals and businesses. These cards are great for people without insurance, or who have very high deductible plans. They can be shared with family and friends to save big on cash-pay pricing.
They also offer subscription plans that provide unlimited care to employees, which are not covered by traditional insurance. Employers can pay a flat fee to cover their employees’ acute care. This model offers many benefits, including a cap on employer costs and encouraging employees to use urgent care. It also reduces out-of-pocket expenses for employees. Next Level’s presence in Houston makes subscription plans especially appealing.
Dr. Breeze
Dr. Breeze says that Next Level is a locally-based, woman-owned business. We are the best people to treat Houstonians.
Next Level Urgent Care offers walk-in services for injuries and illnesses that are not life-threatening. There are locations in the Houston area. Next Level Urgent Care Clinics are the first Texas organization to be awarded Urgent Care Center Accreditation by the American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine. This voluntary evaluation measures the quality of services against nationally recognized standards.
TouchWorks EHR, a leading EHR platform, is ideal for multi-specialty practice, management services organizations (MSO) platforms, academic and independent delivery network (IDNs). TouchWorks EHR is easy to scale and can integrate with existing solutions due to its open architecture. The EHR is the ideal solution for ambulatory practice, including research-oriented and teaching practices. It provides better patient care and facilitates population health initiatives.
Dr. Juliet Breeze
Dr. Juliet Breeze, Next Level Chief Executive Officer stated that Allscripts would allow us to create a single clinical patient record and streamline the workflow for medical staff in order to better serve patients who are looking for high-quality, affordable, and immediate care for non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses. We are also helping to promote healthy patient populations as well as improve the quality of care within our communities by implementing enterprise patient engagement solutions such As Follow My Health.
