Hospitals with large low-income patient populations are making increasing use of mobile clinics to curb costs and provide service to patients who might find it difficult to go to emergency rooms.
These mobile clinics are particularly useful for people with such chronic conditions as diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure.
In one example summarized by FierceHealthcare from an article on mobile clinics from Marketplace, in 2015, “9,000 homeless Dallas residents, 1,500 of whom were children, got free care from the Parkland Homeless Outreach Medical Services Program’s vans.”
“In the wake of its success, the program is considering adding social workers, dentists and psychologists to the mix. Similarly, this week health insurer Highmark premiered a new mobile clinic aimed at improving care access for members in remote parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.”
And such clinics have been in use for nearly three years in South Florida.