SYRACUSE — United Concierge Medicine (UCM), an emergency-medicine practice that delivers service through telemedicine technology, is now available to members of CenterState CEO. The Troy, New York–based practice says it provides “virtual concierge care” to help “increase access, reduce costs, and improve quality of care.” CenterState CEO and its Business Solutions of New York (BSNY) […]
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SYRACUSE — United Concierge Medicine (UCM), an emergency-medicine practice that delivers service through telemedicine technology, is now available to members of CenterState CEO.
The Troy, New York–based practice says it provides “virtual concierge care” to help “increase access, reduce costs, and improve quality of care.”
CenterState CEO and its Business Solutions of New York (BSNY) subsidiary announced UCM’s availability to members during a Jan. 8 panel event focused on “innovative” health-care benefits, according to a UCM news release.
“This new partnership will continue to deliver on our organization’s promise to local businesses — to be a trusted resource and an innovator in reducing costs while improving results. We’re thrilled to welcome UCM to Central New York,” Frank Caliva, COO of BSNY, said in the release.
While UCM launched this new partnership in Central New York Jan. 8, the company is no stranger to the region, having forged previous relationships providing services to Syracuse Fire Department employees and to those working for the City of Rome.
UCM CEO
UCM is not meant to replace a patient’s primary-care doctor, says Keith Algozzine, CEO of UCM and an emergency-medicine physician.
But when you’re “immediately sick or injured” and wondering where to go for treatment, UCM wants to be that option over an emergency room (ER) or an urgent-care location.
“That’s what we’re trying to replace,” he says.
Algozzine spoke to CNYBJ on Jan. 15 from UCM headquarters in Troy, near Albany.
CenterState CEO members “will still have to make an individual decision if they want to buy it,” he says.
A company will pay an annual fee for each of its employees to have the UCM service, he says.
“It really is a cash model right now … Most of it is really driven through our business-to-business relationships. We don’t typically work with a lot of individuals,” he says.
UCM charges $12 per month for individuals and $14 per month for families for its “VIP” services, which include “unlimited access” to a medical provider, according to its website. For businesses and organizations, additional pricing options are available, the website added.
By eliminating a hospital, ER, or urgent-care center, UCM contends it is able to “drive down” utilization costs and “improve care to ultimately save time and money” for patients and employers.
“Our organization is one of just a handful of organizations in the entire country that is accredited by the American Telemedicine Association for our quality, transparency and security,” the website says.
About UCM
Launched in 2014, the UCM provides an on-call provider and “cost savings to employers by driving more appropriate levels of care.”
“Unlike traditional telemedicine options, UCM provides a more personalized and comprehensive care model,” the practice contends in its news release.
Algozzine and his co-founding business partner, an emergency-medicine doctor, had been working in emergency rooms (ERs) their whole careers and were “so disappointed” in the increasing numbers of patients coming through ERs and urgent-care facilities.
They didn’t like what Algozzine called the “burden” that it was putting on the health-care system to deal with “so many of these conditions” through the ER and urgent cares and the “actual burden” that it was putting on patients.
“The impetus [behind starting UCM] was just our own living experience in the ERs and urgent care [centers], saying we can do better than this, and we have,” says Algozzine.
Providers
UCM’s health-care providers are based in New York state with “the bulk of them” either located in the Capital Region or in Central New York.
“If you drew about a 200-mile radius around Albany, that’s where most of our providers are today,” he says.
UCM currently has more than 50 emergency-medicine trained providers and its service is available nationally, says Algozzine.
“Our providers that we hire and we train also get licensed in the rest of the states around the country because patients traveling would want to use [the service],” he adds.
UCM provides “customized” care from providers that can include ordering laboratory work, X-rays, referrals, and prescriptions, according to its release.
Beyond these services, UCM providers follow up with every patient on all cases, the company said.
“Even if we can’t definitely treat you, the concierge approach says, we’re going to refer you to the right doctor, we’re going to get you an X-ray or a lab test, we’re going to follow up to make sure you’re getting better,” says Algozzine.
