Bridging the health care gap through telehealth: the MedicallHome and ConsejoSano models
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Case study. Frugal innovations in health care delivery
- Author(s):
- Taylor, Andrea, author Escobar, Erin, author Udayakumar, Krishna, author
- Contributor(s):
- Commonwealth Fund, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [New York, N.Y.] : Commonwealth Fund, August 2017
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Developing Countries Health Services Accessibility Telemedicine Hispanic Americans Poverty Humans Mexico United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- KEY FEATURES. MedicallHome connects subscribed patients throughout Mexico with doctors in a Mexico City call center. Using standard protocols, doctors resolve issues or refer callers to providers in national network of clinics, labs, and hospitals that offers discounts to program members. TARGET POPULATION. Low- and middle-income people. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT. In many developing nations, the public health system is unable to meet demand for services, driving people to seek costly services in the private sector. BENEFITS. Expands access to care while, in some cases, reducing unnecessary use of services, such as immediate acute care for non-health emergencies. An adaptation of the model, ConsejoSano, was launched in the United States in 2014, connecting Hispanic residents to the same call center in Mexico. CHALLENGES. In the ConsejoSano model, physicians in the Mexico City call center serve as advisors, supporting effective navigation of local health resources rather than establishing doctor--patient relationships--an adaptation that makes the model viable in the U.S. Creating a national call center in the U.S. would be difficult, given state licensing regulations for doctors. KEY TAKEAWAYS. (1) Mexico City-based MedicallHome provides 24/7 telephone access to licensed doctors, along with deeply discounted access to a large national network of clinics, labs, and hospitals. (2) Targeted primarily to low- and middle-income households, packages are priced at $2 to $5 per month. (3) With Mexico's public health system unable to meet the demand for services, MedicallHome has expanded access to care while reducing use of acute care for nonemergencies.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (9 pages)).
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101712728 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101712728