Ambulatory Care

Major for-profit ambulatory surgery operator AmSurg on Tuesday said it has offered $7.8 billion to TeamHealth Holdings to merge the companies.

The money will be spent on capital improvements for its hospital in Weston, Florida, and to launch a new ambulatory center and clinic in Coral Springs.

Partners HealthCare, one of the largest hospital operators in Massachusetts, this week opened its first walk-in urgent care clinic as more hospital operators rush to open clinics to provide better, more accessible care for pressing medical issues.

DaVita Kidney Care on Monday said it has formed a joint venture with a hospital chain in China specializing in kidney care as the global provider of dialysis services continues to expand its reach.

Dialysis center operator DaVita HealthCare Partners on Monday said it would buy competitor Renal Ventures for $415 million, adding another 36 centers in six states.

As rural hospitals continue to struggle to stay afloat, the Kansas Hospital Association is hoping to persuade the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to alter the way it reimburses so hospitals can focus more on outpatient and emergency services.

The health system plans to open as many as a dozen urgent care clinics over the next three years.

Clinics partner with a local hospital, a federally qualified health center and other community-based health organizations to reach a down-on-their-luck population sometimes struggling for basic survival.

Tufts Health Plan is working with Iora to open two new Iora Primary Care practices, in Medford and Hyde Park, exclusively for customers on Tufts' Medicare Preferred and Senior Care Options plans, the latter a dual eligibles plan.

Though new transparency rules worried dialysis providers and prevention efforts are increasing, DaVita HealthCare Partners says the demand for the kidney-care services is still driving business forward.