CASE STUDY

Filling Care Gap Expands Market Share

Riverside University Health System in Moreno Valley, California, partnered with Vituity across emergency department and outpatient settings. In just one year (2021), referrals from Vituity-run urgent care centers added over a thousand new patients to the system’s primary care and pediatrics practices.

Published October 19, 2022

The Challenge

Increase primary care and specialists visits

Many patients were unaware of the wide range of services available at Riverside University Health System (RUHS) federally qualified health centers and instead sought primary care at the emergency department. To boost primary care and specialist visits, RUHS looked to Vituity to reach new patients and drive in-system referrals.

Our Solution

Focus on a community care gap to draw patients to the system

Prior to 2020, none of the urgent care clinics in Riverside County served the large Medi-Cal population. To meet this need, Vituity and RUHS established Corona Express Care, which offered walk-in urgent and primary care services. The center was staffed by skilled advanced providers who positioned themselves as “bridge builders” to RUHS’ primary care and specialist practices.

Key areas of focus included

Using referrals to connect patients with RUHS providers and services
Meeting the program’s high-quality standards
Improving population health by checking patient records and filling gaps in preventative care (overdue screenings, vaccinations)

The Results

Significant increase in market share growth and reputation

The community quickly embraced Corona Express Care, which was soon serving 30 patients per day. In turn, referrals from Vituity urgent care providers greatly increased visits to RUHS primary care and specialist practices. In its first full year of operation, the pilot achieved:

1,117 new patients established with primary care and pediatrics providers
2,039 primary care follow-up appointments scheduled
113 referrals to RUHS orthopedics providers, including 22 surgical cases
30 emergency department referrals, including 21 admissions for immediate surgery

Based on the success of the initial two-year pilot, the system added a second Vituity-managed urgent care on RUHS Medical Center main campus in 2022 and plans to add additional clinics around the county.

Conclusion

Vituity physicians’ and advanced providers’ culture of collaboration extends beyond individual practice settings to impact systemwide goals. By understanding all RUHS operations, Vituity clinicians were able to align with overall growth goals and make a significant impact on market share and overall reputation.

Partnering to improve patient lives

Vituity branding with wave pattern footer