Urgent Care Leader in Concussion Management

Medstar Health’s urgent care saw an increase in the number of patients coming in with head injuries and concussion-like symptoms, and they knew it was time to meet the need for concussion care.

Dr. Robert Graw, founder and CEO at Medstar Health, recognized this need for specialized concussion assessments in the urgent care setting after seeing young people with football, soccer, bicycle, and skateboard accidents, among many others.

Quick screenings and confident decision-making

The Medstar Health team needed a brief and objective cognitive test to help understand the extent of the brain injuries they saw. That's why they chose ImPACT Quick Test for their urgent care.

In the urgent care setting, the goal is to see the patient within 60 minutes of them walking through the doors. For that reason, the Medstar Health team needed a brief and objective cognitive test. For its quickness, ImPACT Quick Test was their tool of choice to help understand the extent of the brain injuries they saw.

“It’s about the speed and validity of the test. With it being as thorough and as expedient as possible, it really allows us to live up to the urgent care model of seeing the patient quickly."

Subjective symptom assessments are an important piece of the puzzle, but having data to show the patient is critical. ImPACT Quick Test gives Medstar Health another set of data to help their clinicians make concussion assessment decisions with confidence. It gives depth and objectivity to their concussion evaluations.

Staying ahead of competitors through concussion care

Medstar Health's organization founders are researchers, so data is VERY important to them. ImPACT Applications’ tools are FDA cleared and there’s a large database of research behind it. Evidence-based medicine is crucial for them. When you are competing against other urgent care centers who provide a lot of the same services, offering proven concussion care gives you a leg up on the competition.

“ImPACT Applications has shown they understand how important science and evidence-based tools are. They’re the gold standard.”

There are a lot of urgent cares out there that provide the same types of services. Offering concussion care can provide a big advantage over the competition. Medstar Health sees everything from the sports concussions, to motor vehicles, and worker's comp.

When they see a patient that requires more in-depth assessment, HeadFirst's clinicians use ImPACT and ImPACT Pediatric to return patients to activity. At the HeadFirst Concussion Clinic, the concussion care providers get to spend a little more time with the patient. That’s when they use the rest of the concussion assessment tools available to them - ImPACT Pediatric and ImPACT - which are more extensive.

In either case, ImPACT Applications’ tools are all FDA cleared and they have a huge database of research behind them, so their clinicians know they're covered.

Good reimbursement is key

Reimbursement for using ImPACT Applications' tools has been excellent for Medstar Health. They’ve seen robust reimbursement from multiple insurers. And that includes non-athletes, worker’s compensation, and random accidents.

Improving outreach and patient outcomes

Medstar Health does a lot of outreach in community. They hold educational talks and explain why their clinicians do each part of the evaluation. ImPACT and ImPACT Quick test are a differentiator for them.

“We tell parents, ‘your child can certainly go to their pediatrician or primary care, but those locations may be noncommittal when it comes to diagnosing concussion. They’re not familiar with best practices.’ So we can provide targeted and informed assessments in those cases.”

With their proven concussion protocol that includes ImPACT Applications' tools, Medstar Health is able to provide tailored concussion care to their patients. With their full clinical evaluation and neurocognitive testing, Medstar Health’s clinicians are confident in their diagnoses of concussions. They can explain the findings to the patient and parents and the families feel good knowing Medstar Health is doing everything they can to get the right diagnosis.