You may have noticed recently, as a way to add additional revenue and fill a gap in the healthcare system, a number of pharmacy store chains have been offering walk-in clinics where patients can receive immediate care for a range of maladies. I was in one a few Sunday?s ago when we thought my son had strep throat and there was no way I was waiting in line at the emergency room for 3 hours to get a rapid strep test (his doctor was off enjoying her 
weekend).
While the clinics are convenient and useful for patients, they are costly for the chains to provide. Each one must be retrofit into the store, requiring expensive construction ? especially given the need to protect patient privacy and comply with HIPAA regulations. ?And each clinic must be staffed with one or more qualified medical professionals, which further drives up costs. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average salary for a physician?s assistant in 2010 was $86,410.
For all these reasons, it becomes difficult for the pharmacies to scale the walk-in clinic model beyond a few hundred stores ? leaving thousands more out of the picture.
Health Care by Hi Def Video ? a Scalable Model
The healthcare solutions group at Carousel Industries has come up with a solution to the scalability problem: the high definition video diagnostic kiosk. Recent advances in high-def videoconferencing, along with the availability of fast data networks and secure unified communications platforms make it possible for healthcare professionals to treat patients remotely, via video.
In a relatively small enclosed kiosk, not much bigger than a photo booth or the space currently devoted to blood pressure testing machines, patients sit on front of a video conferencing screen and speak with a qualified medical professional. HD cameras, screens and integrated diagnostic equipment enable the remote professional to diagnose issues and decide on the best course of action. If necessary, the doctor can write a prescription, which the patient can have filled at the pharmacy desk a few feet away. Never has a trip to the doctor been so quick or convenient.
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Dig Deeper: ?Read the Free Whitepaper -?Tomorrow?s Pharmacy: How eHealth and HD Video Telepresence Will Transform In-Store Pharmacy Care.
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Healthcare Kiosks Benefit Patients and Pharmacies Alike
Clearly the kiosk solution holds many benefits for patients. They get their issue addressed quickly by a qualified expert on a one-to-one basis, with all the same privacy as a doctor?s office. They get prescriptions fulfilled on the spot, without having to make an extra stop. In many cases, no appointment is required and visits may be outside normal doctor?s hours.
Pharmacies, too, realize ?many benefits. For one, they can put the kiosks in lots more locations without incurring all the costs of a walk-in clinic. A single physician or physician?s assistant can handle multiple kiosks, dramatically reducing personnel costs. If they centralize the service delivery from a single remote video call center, pharmacies can use existing contact center technologies to ensure they are properly staffed at all times. They can also take advantage of advanced performance reporting and analytics features to track statistics and ensure cost controls. In short, the kiosks are a great opportunity for pharmacies to develop a new revenue stream with relatively low cost..
To learn more about the Carousel eHealth platform, check out the white paper, ?Tomorrow?s Pharmacy: How eHealth and HD Video Telepresence Will Transform In-Store Pharmacy Care.?
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