Charlotte’s high-quality business community, housing, schools and cultural amenities leave no doubt that the same standards would apply to health care. And, in fact, the region is flush with excellent health-care providers and a broad, sophisticated network of professionals and organizations offering everything from primary and emergency care to preventive maintenance and high-tech procedures.
No matter where you live around Charlotte, you’ll find excellent health-care facilities nearby. As the city has grown, hospitals, physicians’ groups and other health-care providers have expanded beyond Uptown to also serve the suburbs. Health-care services in neighboring counties have expanded as well.
While you can still find traditional fee-for-service practices, managed care is widely available and accepted here. The area has many health-maintenance organizations (HMOs), preferred provider organizations (PPOs) and point-of-service (POS) plans. Of course, the managed-care plan you pick will influence your choice of physicians, so check that program’s rules before you select your new physicians.
In recent years, many smaller practices have consolidated, while hospital-affiliated management groups have purchased others. So, these days you’ll find more and more Charlotte-area physicians practicing in large clinics. Nevertheless, you can still find a few physicians in solo or two-doctor practices. The city also has many health-care professionals in fields of specialty ranging from dentistry and chiropractic to optometry and podiatry. If you need non-emergency care but don’t yet have a family physician, you can visit a minor-emergency or urgent-care center.
If you need hospitalization, managed care probably will dictate your choices here as well. Charlotte has two major hospital systems – Carolinas HealthCare System and Novant Health/Presbyterian Healthcare. Both systems grew as a result of a push toward integrated systems that help keep costs low. They offer excellent treatment and are continually expanding to provide a full range of services in order to satisfy managed-care contracts and solidify their patient base. Together, the two systems operate MEDIC, the county’s ambulance system.
Carolinas HealthCare is the largest healthcare system in the Carolinas and one of the largest publicly owned systems in the county. As the flagship hospital with 861 beds, Carolinas Medical Center is located at the edge of Myers Park. |
