Using Telehealth to Serve Disparate Populations

The following is a guest article by Josh Wilda, CIO at University of Michigan Health-West.

Armando Ruiz is like many who walk through the doors of Exalta Health: an elderly man greeted in his native Spanish by a bilingual marquee outside the small purple clinic on Grand Rapids’ main thoroughfare. He’s also one of many Exalta patients who took advantage of a partnership with a local hospital to receive needed specialty care through a unique hybrid remote/in-person model.

The partnership between Exalta and University of Michigan Health-West serves a variety of business objectives for both providers. As a lesson in the potential for telemedicine to serve disparate populations, the early results of this partnership are promising. Ruiz, an uninsured immigrant from Guatemala, might not have received a proper diagnosis for his combination of chest pains and respiratory problems without seeing a specialist ― an appointment that would ordinarily be unaffordable and take him outside of Exalta’s facility.
Ruiz first met with Laura Kass, a Physician Assistant who treks 7 miles from UMH-West’s campus to Exalta once a week. With help from an on-site interpreter, Kass was able to order tests for Ruiz and refer him to a UMH-West cardiologist. Ruiz’s appointment with the cardiologist was then conducted at Exalta using a remote video call with help from the interpreter.
Given the experience of Ruiz and others, this hybrid care model could be instrumental in addres...

Source: EMR and HIPAA - March 6, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: Ambulatory Clinical Communication and Patient Experience Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System Telemedicine and Remote Monitoring Armando Ruiz Exalta Exalta Health Grand Rapids Hybrid Care Josh Wilda Laura Kass Source Type: blogs