5 Takeaways from NAFEC 2016

1. Again, it’s just the beginning… 

Today there are 248 FEC in Texas. That compares to just 15 in 2010. The industry has experienced tremendous growth and seems primed to continue to grow. And it’s not just a niche market in Texas. A number of states are studying the success in Texas, as evidenced by NAFEC 2016 drawing attendees from more than 20 states.

As far as current saturation goes, FEC make up 10% of all emergency departments today with all signs pointing to sustained growth in the coming decade. 

2. Easy access to emergency care is necessary… 

The statistics make it clear: 43% of Americans visit an ED each year – not counting urgent care. With waiting times often in the hours, FEC are filling an important role in providing patients in need with a convenient access point for emergency care.

3. There is efficiency in the FEC environment…

This theme was carried through a number of the presentations during NAFEC2016. Here are just a few of the bullet points we came away with:

• A smaller staff promotes teamwork and increases trust/familiarity.

• By nature of the model, providers work to optimize care in the most efficient amount of time.

• There is an opportunity for follow-up that is not present in the hospital environment.

• It’s a tremendous boost to efficiency to have medical records available on-site.

• FEC admission rates are much lower for the same healthcare codes when compared to hospital-based emergency departments.

4. Reimbursement remains a challenge...

Just a couple quick points here:

• In the current environment, insurance companies are determining what fair payment is.

• FEC should be proactively working to address the education gap in regards to coverage vs. cost for patients.

5. And lastly, our clients are excited about our new release!

We had a great turnout at our preview event for our current clients and had a number of prospective clients drop by for a look. Congratulations to our development team for making a big splash! If you’d like to take a look at the new release, just reply to this email and we will follow up to set up a demo.