Mobile Medical Clinics, Research Paper Example

About 8.9% of the entire US population requires financial assistance in order to afford health insurance. The majority of these people in need of health care treatment do not have access to private insurance because they are unable to afford it. They do however; use alternative methods of obtaining health care and treatment through a variety of public services funded by the state or federal government. Although healthcare treatment is widely available, it can be costly to the point where most people simply cannot afford it based on their regular income. There are assistance programs of health care reform regarding medicines and treatment for those in need of it. Such assistance programs involve the Children’s Health Fund of New York City (CHF) being able to offer everybody medicines and treatment through certain qualifications catering to populations based on age, income, and infection status. (Brown, DeHayes, Hoffer, Martin, & Perkins, 2012) (Brown C. , 2010)

The CHF offers a variety of sources for people requiring insurance to receive health care and treatment. The level of accessibility is continuously being improved for those in need of it. While health care is generally expensive when being treated for just about anything, the CHF has made it significantly more accessible for people from ages 0-24. Relationships have been established with state and federal government entities, as well as with local programs to make this possible. As the CHF continues their efforts in being able to provide health care to children and poverty stricken families across the country, this case study explores in detail how these efforts are being executed, the effects they have on the stakeholders, and how the current situation can continue to innovate. (Brown C. , 2010)

What is unique about this case study is the support for the revolutionary mobile health clinics. The use of mobile medical clinics (MMC) was first introduced when the CHF President MD Irwin Redlener was working for USA for Africa with singer Paul Simon. Somebody gave Dr. Redlener the idea of bringing health care assistance to those who need it by transporting doctors, nurses, and medical specialist in a van. In other words, the idea was to bring the doctors to the homes of patients. Then, the state of the art MMCs were introduced which now operate in several states across the US.  (Brown C. , 2010) (Brown, DeHayes, Hoffer, Martin, & Perkins, 2012)

According to the case study, the MMCs have impaired communications and information systems limitations which would otherwise not exist in a traditional clinic. These limitations include network availability and reliability, data security, absence of on-site IT support, operating costs, and network throughput and latency. The limitations on information and network technology equipped by the MMCs might implicate that their communications are inadequate enough to act as efficient as a traditional clinic. It is important and highly recommended that efforts are continued to maintain the technological components of these MMCs to ensure that medical data and patient information is transmitted accurately to avoid medical mistakes. It is suggested that regular inspection of the network and information technology is taken on the MMCs. (Brown C. , 2010) (Brown, DeHayes, Hoffer, Martin, & Perkins, 2012)

Information technology is continuously innovating. If there are newer and better cost effective network based communications that can benefit the operations of the MMCs, then they should be integrated and kept up to date. The federal government’s funds from the HITECH stimulus package and the Meaningful Use Standards are an effective way to fund such upgrades in network communications. The extended use of software adaptations will probably make it easier for CIO Weisman’s staff to operate. The only conditions where the MMCs are rendered obsolete are either all network communications cease to exist or everybody in the US is able to afford health care without assistance. Otherwise, the MMCs are likely to continue providing health care assistance to those who have trouble affording it. (Brown C. , 2010) (Brown, DeHayes, Hoffer, Martin, & Perkins, 2012)

References

Brown, C. (2010). Supporting Mobile Health Clinics: The Children’s Health Fund of NYC. Stevens Institute of Technology.

Brown, DeHayes, Hoffer, Martin, & Perkins. (2012). Managing Information Technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.