Mercy Medical Center North Iowa | Life & Health | Summer 2018

New! Online medical visits Mercy Health Network (MHN) is excited to offer a new way to access health care day or night, from home, work or on the go. Mobile Care, which launched in Des Moines in February and in North Iowa in March, is an online platform where visits with a physician are conducted through a secure video connection on a computer or mobile device. This new service is designed to diagnose and treat patients with minor illnesses, such as cold and flu, sore throat, eye infections, cough, and much more. Making care more convenient Recent trends in the health care industry show an increase in demand for virtual health care services. MHN recognized this as an opportunity to expand existing telehealth services and organized a team of physicians, clinical leaders, market presidents, and telehealth and marketing staff to evaluate options for offering online physician visits. This group chose to partner with Teladoc, a national vendor known for implementing and managing telehealth programs across the nation. The Teladoc platform combines cloud-based technology, a dedicated business unit and operational support into one complete telehealth solution—meeting the ongoing needs of hospitals, health systems and consumers. How it works A team of physicians who are U.S. board-certified in internal medicine, family medicine, emergency medicine or pediatrics provides the Mobile Care service. These physicians can write prescriptions, if needed. If a patient has symptoms that cannot be treated via a video visit, the physician will direct the patient to visit his or her primary care provider, local urgent care clinic, or the emergency room. You can access Mobile Care through the Mercy–North Iowa or MHN websites, or you can search “Mobile Care by Mercy” in Google Play or the App Store to download the mobile app. LIFE AND HEALTH 5