Covered health care providers and all health plans and health care clearinghouses must use the NPIs in the administrative and financial transactions adopted under HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). The NPI must be used in lieu of legacy provider identifiers in the HIPAA standards transactions. This means that the numbers do not carry other information about healthcare providers, such as the state in which they live or their medical specialty. The NPI is a 10-position, intelligence-free numeric identifier (10-digit number). What is a NPI Number? : The National Provider Identifier (NPI) is a unique identification number for covered health care providers. Reimbursement by insurance companies for urgent care centers is comparable to general/family practice reimbursement ($101-$103), which is well below the average contribution for emergency department visits ($560). The typical wait time to be seen at an urgent care center is less than 30 minutes. Common hours of operation are 8:00 am to 8:00 pm daily.įor injuries and illnesses that are urgent but not life-threatening, it is more efficient to use urgent care than an emergency department in terms of both money and time. In fact, 85% of urgent care centers are open 7 days a week. Urgent care centers are usually great options for seeing a physician, particularly after traditional office hours, on weekends or even holidays. In contrast, Urgent Care Center are designed to lighten the load on local emergency rooms by treating non-life threatening injuries (lacerations, mild fractures, etc.) and illnesses (earaches, influenza, rashes, etc.) in a patient-friendly environment. There are several main differences between Urgent Care Centers and the Emergency Room.Įmergency rooms are staffed 24 hours a day and are designed to treat patients suffering from life threatening injuries or serious illnesses. Generally, most urgent care centers are open seven days a week with hours extending into the evening.Īdditionally, patients seeking medical attention or advice should not have to make appointments at Urgent Care Centers.ĭifference between Urgent Care Center and Emergency Room? They are equipped to serve the entire family including children and can handle a variety of conditions ranging from sinusitis and pneumonia to lacerations and fractures. Overall, the site is smaller.Urgent Care Centers provide treatment for the non-life threatening illnesses and injuries that occur on a day-to-day basis. Locations along Immokalee Road and Collier Boulevard were used as a model for the new facility, although the land forced some changes. Equipment such as two CT scanners and an EMT machine, along with an on-site lab, allow for faster analysis and care. NCH Healthcare Bonita still offers more than critical care locations, officials said. “We’re happy to bring our five-star care service to the Bonita Springs community,” McClurg said.Īn NCH immediate care center on Bonita Beach Road will continue to operate for non-life-threatening illnesses or injuries meant as a faster alternative for a full-service emergency room.Ī freestanding ER cannot keep patients more than a day, so people with more serious problems requiring longer stays will likely go directly to a larger, full-service facility such as NCH North Naples Hospital. Ambulances normally go to the closest facility if the patient is unable to pick a health provider. With the two facilities so close, patients can choose which ER to use.