Shoppers at two San Antonio Walmarts can now see a physician steps from where they buy their groceries, home goods and vitamins.
Through MyDocDirect, a telemedicine tool using the latest audio and video technology, Concentra, a subsidiary of health insurer Humana, has begun to offer telemedicine consults at the Humana Health & Well-being Centers in two stores.
The telemedicine section of the walk-in facility allows customers to connect with physicians through a video conferencing system, and is designed to treat ailments such as sinus infections or strep throat that would otherwise have sent a patient to an urgent care center. Although the physicians are remote, the telemedicine clinics are staffed with Concentra nurses to administer tests and other care activities.
Visitors to the well-being centers can also take advantage of a variety of health education resources including learning about healthy living and cooking, participating in live demonstrations and events and getting active with an in-store walking program.
Currently, the centers only accept Humana insurance plans; however, other customers may access services through self-pay prices.
The telemedicine clinics are based off of clinics already in place at Concentra's headquarters in Addison, Tex., and at Humana's headquarters in Louisville, Ky. These clinics, though just for Concentra and Humana employees and their covered dependents, have proved popular, seeing about 10 patients per day, says Bill Lewis, MD, senior vice president of medical operations at Concentra.
Additionally, several small-scale surveys have suggested the Louisville clinic's patients find telemedicine more than a suitable substitute for in-person physician visits. "The majority [of survey respondents] found telemedicine to be the equivalent of in-person visits," says Dr. Lewis, "and some found it superior because they could see and hear things better through the equipment than they could during a face-to-face visit."
The two San Antonio clinics will test the acceptance of telemedicine services among the general public, says Dr. Lewis. If these clinics are successful, Humana plans to expand the idea to other markets.
For Humana, success is not necessarily measured solely in number of visits and customer satisfaction. Dr. Lewis says the clinics' long-term success will be measured by their ability to improve the health and clinical outcomes in the local population.
The Louisville clinic has seen a gradual uptick in the number of patients who come for preventative medicine or primary care consultations — currently, about 20 percent of that clinic's traffic is non-urgent. Dr. Lewis hopes the same trend will emerge in the San Antonio clinics, as it will be a sign the clinics are helping residents proactively prevent illness or control chronic conditions.
"The ultimate goal is wellness, and this is a tool to get us there," says Dr. Lewis.
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