Amanda (Host): On this episode, a panel discussion on when to
use virtual or in-person care.
Let's explore the pros, cons, and unique offerings from Memorial Care to help
you make informed healthcare decisions.
This is Weekly Dose of Wellness from Memorial Care Health System.
I'm Amanda Wilde, and my guests are family Medicine, Dr.
Maw and Emily Manassian, virtual Health Ambassador Memorial
Care Medical Foundation.
Welcome to you both.
Thank you both for being here.
Hoa Mai Nguyen, MD: Hello.
Thanks for having us.
Emilie Minassian: Hello.
Amanda (Host): Emily, I'm gonna start with you.
virtual care has come on strong since COVID began.
how has virtual care transformed healthcare over these last few years?
Emilie Minassian: Yeah, how hasn't it?
it's completely changed how people access healthcare.
I mean.
Five or so years ago, video visits were foreign to a lot of people,
And in just a few years, it's gone from a very niche option to more
of a 24 7 resource that saves time.
Not only reduces costs, but then also eliminates those long waits, in-person.
So today, patient's can really connect with memorial care clinicians at any
time around the clock from anywhere, for everything, something from either a minor
illness or all the way to urgent needs.
So that really makes that care more convenient and accessible than ever.
Thanks to COVID.
Amanda (Host): Yeah.
doctor, when in an age of electronic misinformation, how can consumers trust
virtual care for an accurate diagnosis?
Hoa Mai Nguyen, MD: Yeah, good question.
Well, first of all, we are very HIPAA compliant.
our patient security.
And privacy.
it's, definitely a priority for us.
regarding accurate diagnoses.
there are many things that we can see virtually, that are just as beneficial
as seeing patient's in-person.
common things that we see are things like rashes where you
don't need to be seen in-person.
Patient's can send us pictures for clearer, images or if they
want to show us the timeline of how their rashes have changed.
This is definitely something that we can do over virtual and does
not have to be done in-person.
Amanda (Host): What are some of the other common ailments that
work well for virtual care?
Hoa Mai Nguyen, MD: yeah, especially during cold and flu season right
now, we see a lot of colds, flus, COVID infections, sinus infections.
We see a lot of UTIs, skin rashes.
Like I said, we see a lot of pink eye, we see a lot of, neurovirus,
which is causing, gastroenteritis and a lot of kids right now.
and these are, all things that we can see virtually and provide some,
medical advice, especially patient's are stable and don't need to be seen.
like in the emergency room, we can definitely give, advice on supportive
care and things they can do at home.
Send in prescriptions as well so that they don't need to be seen in-person.
Amanda (Host): So Emily, what virtual care options does Memorial
Care offer for these ailments?
Emilie Minassian: So we recently just launched, one of the coolest features
in my opinion, for virtual care.
it's called Get Care Now.
And this makes virtual care very simple and flexible with multiple options.
Essentially, it's a one-stop shop for all.
All of the possible, care options that you can get same-day.
so you can start off with a 24 7 symptom checker, or our, it's our
AI powered chat for quick guidance.
So that uses, AI to screen your symptoms, suggest possible reasons for those
symptoms, And then, some treatment options that you can then, Take action against.
you can also use a quick care visit.
This is just a $20 flat fee, And that visit delivers a diagnosis or
prescription, usually within an hour.
And then we also have our virtual urgent care, like Dr.
Wynn was mentioning that's more of our face-to-face video visit.
secure video visit at either your insurance copay or
a $75 self-pay cash fee.
memorial care patient's also have the option to talk to one of our telephone
advice nurses, twenty four seven, And that offers personalized guidance.
if you are questioning any of your symptoms that you have, aren't sure
what type of care you should, seek.
That is a very great option for you as well.
And like Dr.
Wynn said, all of these are HIPAA compliant, and led by our
own memorial care clinicians.
There's no subscription or affiliation required, so very easy one-stop shop for
you to get care, the minute you need it.
Hoa Mai Nguyen, MD: I was just gonna add that our nurses are also, very good
with triaging and letting, patient's know if, they will offer them a virtual
urgent care visit if they feel like they need a face-to-face encounter.
Or with a provider, or if they need to be seen in-person or the er.
Amanda (Host): That's just was gonna be my next question actually,
for you, Emily, and you doctor, when are patient's embracing this
technology for the convenience of it And the quick response time?
Or are they reluctant because it isn't an in-person visit?
Emilie Minassian: I would say that they're actually using it quite a bit.
It's a relief for a lot of, individuals, especially those with young kids.
I've heard stories of parents where they know their kid has an ear infection, but
no urgent care is open at three in the morning, so they end up needing to go to
the er, sitting there for however many hours just for a simple ear infection.
so This is something that instead of wasting all that time and waking your
kid up in the middle of the night to go all the way to the er, This
is something that's a lot easier.
You could do it from the comfort of your own home within an
hour, usually, maybe even less.
Amanda (Host): Do you find the same Dr.
Wynn?
Hoa Mai Nguyen, MD: Yes, yes.
I definitely see patient's are taking advantage of it, especially
in the middle of the night.
We're available 24 7.
they, sometimes just need some advice on how much Tylenol they should give
their infant, or they're not sure if they should just wait till the
morning to come to the urgent care.
So our, nurses are really good at that.
Amanda (Host): And Dr.
Wynn, what symptoms or conditions would still require
an in-person urgent care visit?
Hoa Mai Nguyen, MD: Yeah, good question.
So, a lot of things do still require an in, in-person visit so that
we can examine in-person things like chest pain or musculoskeletal
injuries that might require an x-ray.
things that are more, urgent.
we do recommend to be seen in-person.
Any severe breathing issues, we also recommend to be seen in-person as well.
Amanda (Host): But you can always go to the virtual system first, I
guess, and get that advice if you
need
Hoa Mai Nguyen, MD: Exactly, exactly.
You are welcome to see us.
You know, we're available 24 7 to give you some advice.
If you do seem like you need a higher level of care, we will
refer you in to be seen in-person.
Emilie Minassian: And then one quick thing I'll add for that, let's say you
pay your copay for the virtual urgent care visit and they decide that you need to
be seen in-person, that second copay for the in-person urgent care will be waived.
So that's another great thing about it as well.
Amanda (Host): Excellent.
Yeah, that would be a real motivator for me.
how does Memorial Care's get CareNow virtual Care Suite stand
out compared to other local options?
Emily?
Emilie Minassian: So it's, a very simple tool.
It's essentially one click, it takes you to the Get Care Now page.
You see all of the possible options for you.
You can see the exact time that that's available.
what symptoms that can treat, what type of care you can receive at that, level.
and it's very simple, affordable, and very much patient focused.
So there's no subscription fee like you see with Amazon, for example.
every virtual visit is led by the same trusted memorial care medical group,
doctors that you would see in-person.
So it's really.
Just another, level of access to care.
there's real nurses.
There's no like bots or ai, necessarily that are answering
the advice line And the chat.
it'll always connect you to, a human if you need it.
And then prescriptions are usually ready within an hour, to your local pharmacy.
And best of all, it works for anyone in California, whether or not.
You're a memorial care patient.
You can access this at any time.
Amanda (Host): This sounds like an amazing system that you have really got down and
could be a model for other areas as well.
Is there anything you'd like to add about virtual care that listeners should know?
Hoa Mai Nguyen, MD: Well, I just wanted to remind listeners that we are available
24 7 day or night if you have any questions, or you're just not sure if
you need to be seen in-person or not, we can definitely provide that advice.
if you wanna see provider rather than talk to a nurse, we are available.
we also provide, follow-up as well.
So if we see, somebody for a rash or for an illness and they're not able to see
their primary care doctor for a follow-up, Can definitely follow-up with us.
Amanda (Host): Well, thank you so much for the access that you provide
every day And for being with us today.
Emilie Minassian: Thank you so much.
Amanda (Host): That was Family Medicine, Dr.
Maw and Emily Manassian, virtual Health Ambassador Memorial
Care Medical Foundation.
For more information And for assistance with any questions,
visit memorial care.org/get
care now or call 8 7 7.
9 1 8 7 9 6 7.
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This is Weekly Dose of Wellness, brought to you by Memorial Care Health System.