New Premier HealthNet After Hours Practice Provides Quality Care and Accessibility

Beavercreek First Care After Hours Benefits Patients and Practitioners Alike

DAYTON, Ohio (August 8, 2011) – Newly-opened Beavercreek First Care After Hours makes an everyday medical appointment or an unexpected trip to the doctor more convenient. The facility opened April 17 and accommodates access, quality care and inter-network communication to benefit both patients and physicians.

First Care After Hours provides many of the same services found at a primary care office, as well as appointments during the times when most primary care physicians are out of the office. Patients are able to receive medical treatment without an appointment in the evenings and on weekends—times when doctors’ offices are typically closed.

“We aim to act as an extension of patients’ primary care physicians,” explained Dr. Ratna Palakodeti, medical director at First Care After Hours. “As an after-hours facility, we want to complement, not compete with, primary care doctors by providing care to community members when their regular doctors aren’t available.”

Patients who visit First Care After Hours and don’t already have a primary care physician can be easily referred to a Premier HealthNet doctor.

Acting as an urgent care, First Care provides an alternative medical outlet that patients can turn to in times of pressing health needs. Patients can seek treatment for minor injuries, illnesses and infections, such as acute respiratory infections, simple lacerations and minor fractures.

“Our facility can address many of the same health concerns that urgent care facilities address—when medical issues need immediate attention,” said Dr. Roberta Kern, a Premier HealthNet physician who practices at First Care After Hours. “People with more severe conditions such as chest pain that could be the result of a heart attack should still go to an emergency room if they experience those symptoms.”

First Care patients are able get in and out of the facility quickly, and at the same cost they would incur from their primary doctor. First Care accepts most types of medical insurance and a visit to the after-hours facility costs the same as a visit to a primary care physician, which is usually a regular co-pay with medical insurance. Patients can receive quality treatment when they need it without having to face the daunting lines usually seen in an emergency room.

“As with any Premier HealthNet medical office, we hold the same high standards and provide only the best care to our patients,” Palakodeti emphasized. “All of our doctors are also primary care physicians at other practices in the Dayton area. This means patients can expect to receive the same excellent care they would receive from their own personal doctor.”

Because First Care After Hours is a part of Premier HealthNet, effective communication with patients and other medical staff is made possible through Epic, the network’s electronic medical records (EMR) system. Primary care physicians, after hours care staff and specialists within Premier HealthNet are able to access and review patients’ EMRs, allowing the physician to provide quality and thorough care. Epic allows doctors to view patients’ complete medical history, prescriptions and allergies to quickly provide them the best possible treatment.

“Now, when a patient comes to see us, we can easily notify and update their primary care physician on the care they received at First Care After Hours,” explained Dr. Kern.

First Care After Hours is the only Premier After Hours clinic located south of Vandalia, in Beavercreek, Ohio. The facility is open Monday through Friday, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., and most holidays, except Christmas and New Year’s Day.

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