Colorado Hospital Sees Higher Pot-Related Visits Since Legalization

Colorado Hospital Sees Higher Pot-Related Visits Since Legalization

The number of marijuana-related visits to the emergency room and urgent care center at Children’s Hospital Colorado has more than quadrupled since Colorado legalized recreational use, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus reviewed ED and urgent care records for 13- to 21-year-olds, looking for visits where the patient either had a diagnostic code related to marijuana use or a positive urine screen; that number rose from 146 …

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Metro Urgent Care Plays Up Workforce Angle in Announcing Expansion

Metro Urgent Care Plays Up Workforce Angle in Announcing Expansion

Metro Urgent Care is set to launch a major expansion in Colorado, with plans to more than double its footprint by opening 25 new clinics in the Centennial State over the next 6 months. Currently, it has 20 locations there. While such aggressive plans speak to both the company’s past success and faith in the continued growth of the urgent care market, it’s interesting to note that it is choosing to promote its expansion as …

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Colorado Bill Would Force Freestanding ERs to Be More Open on Costs

Colorado Bill Would Force Freestanding ERs to Be More Open on Costs

Colorado is considering legislation that would require freestanding emergency rooms to post notices throughout the building alerting patients that they have stepped into an emergency room, where they will be afforded emergency care for emergent medical conditions (and pay emergency-level charges). The bill was inspired by complaints from consumers who have mistakenly sought care in freestanding ERs, thinking they had gone to an urgent care center—where costs are lower and more likely to be covered …

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Acquisition Brings U.S. HealthWorks to Colorado

U.S. HealthWorks is on a Rocky Mountain high after buying Colorado-based Arbor Occupational Medicine. Bringing Arbor’s four locations into the fold means U.S. Healthworks will now have 231 locations in 21 states; these are the first in Colorado, however. Arbor was founded in Boulder in 1992 with a focus on occupational medicine and physical therapy and a mission to reduce return-to-work time. All told, U.S. HealthWorks collectively has roughly 800 providers who administer care for …

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