Reuters Article Lists Total Access Urgent Care on Lower End of Price Scale in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS - June 24, 2013 - PRLog -- On June 11, a Reuters article titled “How to avoid urgent care sticker shock” described how urgent care treatment bills at some centers can unpleasantly catch patients off-guard. The article described how much pricing can vary at different urgent care centers, because the urgent care industry is highly fragmented and allows providers to largely set their own pricing. The news story mentioned Total Access Urgent Care as being on the lower end of the price scale for the St. Louis, Missouri area. Total Access Urgent Care is a privately-owned medical practice that has three urgent care locations in the St. Louis area.

Reuters noted that the out-of-pocket fee for an initial visit at any of Total Access Urgent Care’s three locations averages $89. In comparison, the article stated that it costs $277 for the same services at four other urgent care locations that are run by a local hospital. In addition to initial visit costs, urgent care patients pay additional charges for each service. In the article, Dr. Matt Bruckel—owner of Total Access Urgent Care—explained that his centers charge $41 for the first procedure (such as stitches) and $30 for a subsequent procedure. Patients may be charged a separate fee for certain services, such as vaccinations and CT scans. Dr. Bruckel noted that because of Total Access Urgent Care’s substantially lower pricing, patients often receive a full evaluation and multiple procedures for less than the $277 charged by competitors for an evaluation without procedures.

The article stated that some individuals go to hospital-run urgent care centers only to find out that they were charged at much higher emergency room rates, or that they were charged facility fees amounting to hundreds of dollars. According to IBISWorld data cited by Reuters, there are currently nearly 10,000 urgent care centers in the United States, and that number is expected to reach 12,000 over the next few years. Many individuals turn to urgent care facilities so that they can avoid the higher costs and longer waits of emergency rooms.

Focused on quality, efficiency and a welcoming atmosphere, the physicians and staff of Total Access Urgent Care serve people of all ages. Services include the treatment of non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries, occupational medicine, school and sports physicals, immunizations, laboratory testing, X-ray, CT, ultrasound and on-site prescription filling for many medicines. As your neighborhood doctor, Total Access provides high quality medical care with a variety of flexible payment options. Appointments are never required. This means that you and your family have access to the medical care you need, when you need it. Most insurance plans are accepted, but insurance is not required. Total Access Urgent Care can be reached at (314) 732-4869 or online at http://www.totalaccessurgentcare.com.