Why Mobile?
Why Consider Mobile Health Services
The concept of using sophisticated mobile units for the delivery of badly needed mobile services was pioneered by Medical Coaches’ Founder, Ian Smith; As a child in Australia he recognized the need for medical services to be accessible to their rural population. At this very young age, he knew mobile health care was the answer. In 1949, Ian Smith received his first order for a fleet of mobile multi-phasic health exam coaches to serve sugar field workers in Cuba. He formed Medical Coaches and delivered sophisticated medical exam and treatment units that improved the lives of many people who had never seen a doctor. From this humble beginning a large industry was born to fill the world wide needs of providing mobile health services to both rural and urban populations. Mobile health care has been proven to be a cost effective and targeted solution over a wide range of programs. Medical Coaches has found through past experiences that many customers would like some help at making presentations to boards, donors, staff, etc, to promote the mobile health concept. Rather than have our potential customers try to assemble this information we are willing to assist in this process. We have developed a simple questionnaire that will assist us in preparing a short power point presentation for your use. If you will fill this out we will be able to provide you with a custom presentation. What are the advantages of mobile services?
1. * Efficient Delivery of Health Care: Many people are deprived of consistent, modern health care because of their location; They can be hundreds of miles from a hospital or clinic, in a slum or depressed region, or in an area that is regularly underserved. A properly equipped and designed mobile unit can deliver medical services on a regularly scheduled basis that people can depend on. Services can range from simple exams, pre- and post-natal care, lab testing, mammographic screening, dental treatment, and minor surgery to name a few. The environment can be very rural, inner city, or small cities. Patients tend to embrace the use of mobile health care delivery because they know the unit is coming to see them! They do not have to travel to a medical center and deal with long lines and bureaucracy. In many cases women can now access care that was unavailable due to lack of child care options. People working at jobs could take less time to get treatment because the mobile unit comes to them.
2. * Cost Effectiveness: In most cases, mobile health care delivery is chosen because it is the only reasonably economic way to provide needed care. The cost of building a permanent structure providing permanent staff (housing, food, etc.) is normally prohibitive. The cost-saving issue runs the full gamut from basic exam to mobile MRIs serving hospitals without sufficient patient volume to warrant permanent installations.
3. * Versatility: The major advantage of mobile units over fixed sites is their ability to move! Mobile units have been called into service for disaster response, national emergencies (vaccinations), and to provide back up when there are issues with the fixed site (construction, fire, replaced equipment, etc.) in order to keep critical services available. In addition, mobile units don’t care what they are used for! Mobile dental clinics have been used for excess patient load, inoculation, and counseling. They can also be used in other programs at different locations when not required for their standard purpose. For example, medical care programs at night in areas accessible to people who work during the day.
4. * Convenience: Mobile units have been used by companies with the U.S. Government for providing services (blood collection, dental, mammography screening, vaccinations, etc.) at the work site. Employees can walk outside the building, get their exam/treatment, and be right back at work. No time is lost for travel or waiting. At one large industrial company who required annual physicals and x-ray, the mobile unit fully paid for itself after one year of use!
5. * Offer an Alternative to Governments Non-Profit Organizations, Industry and Foundations to Make Donations that Directly Improve the Health of Targeted Populations: It is a fact that donations to mobile health projects not only offer badly needed health services; they also serve as a vehicle to show people that others care for their welfare. Mobile mammography, dental, blood pressure. , etc. programs are many times funded by outside organizations.
6. * Allow Health Care Providers to “Test the Water”: Many times the decision to spend hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars for medical equipment and fixed facilities is not clear cut. A number of facilities have contracted with mobile service providers to understand useage, cost structures and personnel requirements. In a number of cases, it has been determined that the mobile service alternative proved to be the best choice!
7. * Increase Patient Care Capacity Permanently: Customers have found that the mobile interim service they required to meet the patient volume overflow was so cost effective that they kept the unit permanently. This happens more frequently with MRI and PET/CT service.
8. * Allow for Seasonal Usage: At times, mobile units serve areas that have dramatic summer or winter changes in patient volumes. Mobile units with appropriate services are excellent alternatives to fill these gaps.
9. * Delivery of Sophisticated State-of-the-Art Health Care by Trained Professionals: The staff for mobile health units are normally well qualified in their field and offer a level of consistency to patients. *Whether it is a pre-natal exam to a PET/CT exam, the technicians onboard are experts in their field and maintain a high level of service and care.
10. * Provide Expensive Medical Technology to Areas Deprived of this Service due to Population Size or Location: The advent of mobile CT screening in the mid-1980’s spawned a new industry that grew to unanticipated proportions. Thousands of mobile CT, MRI, PET/CT, lithotripsy, bone densiometry, mammography and nuclear medicine units serve all 50 States in the U.S., Europe, and other countries. In most of the programs, patients are receiving diagnoses and treatment they would either never have received or would have to travel long distances to receive. There is no question millions of dollars and hundreds of lives are either saved or improved because of mobile health services.
11. * Value: Mobile units have resale value either in their current design or for conversion to another purpose. There is a large secondary market both in the U.S. and overseas for used mobile units.
12. * Designed to Meet Budgets: In the end, mobile units can normally be designed to meet any reasonable budget. Working with reputable, experienced manufacturers, will insure an honest evaluation of minimum budget targets while still receiving a mobile unit that lives up to a buyers expectations.