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. If you enjoyed this podcast, please share it on your social channels and explore our entire podcast library for more topics of interest.

Thanks for listening. This is Weekly Dose of Wellness, brought to you by Memorial Care Health System.