The Adaptability of Hello Health - Essay Example

Hello Health HELLO HEALTH Titus Rock Manickam Order No. 299141 10 May 2009 Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………….3 What is Hello Health? ……………………………………………..3 Commitment to excellence………………………………………..4 Hello Health’s modus operandi…………………………………...5 The Adaptability of Hello Health………………………………….6 The average patient………………………………………………..6 Payments……………………………………………………………7 Hello Health in an urban environment……………………………8 An invigorating factor………………………………………………8 Benefits to society………………………………………………….9 Demand for online services……………………………………….9 Easy Accessibility…………………………………………………..10 Will it last? ………………………………………………………….11 The long term prospects…………………………………………..12 Conclusion………………………………………………………….12 Sources……………………………………………………………..14 HELLO HEALTH Introduction Hello Health is the outcome of Dr Jay Parkinson’s vision when he started helping his friends and family members whenever they had health problems. Dr. Parkinson communicated medical care through the internet. It was easy doing so since he was communicating with known friends and family members. However, gradually, it dawned to Dr. Parkinson that he could use the same line of treatment with outsiders too and it was not difficult drawing up the program as all he had to do was register a website and offer solutions to health care problems. Hello Health started its Internet web site with doctors’ appointments in August 2008. Today, the organization has more than twice the rate of patients of a regular doctor’s office. Since there are four doctors, and each one is able to see more patients throughout the day than an average doctor without waiting times, the rate is twice as high, and still growing (Reporter’s Book Case Studies in Social Innovation and Creative Communities). What is Hello Health? Hello Health is a community of doctors that have made going to the doctor easy again. Instead of waiting in some emergency area in an impersonal hospital, Hello Health serves as the old-fashioned neighborhood doctor, adapted to todays lifestyle. Not only is this type of Health care accessible and affordable to all parts of society, but is also very individual and focused on each patient. The services of the four doctors who are involved in seeing twice as high number of patients throughout the day as an average doctor positively impact the city population and create new awareness for better health. The principles of Hello Health are to form a close and healthy relationship between patient and doctor and staying in constant communication, whether one is feeling absolutely all right or has some kind of health issue. The devices through which this is all made possible are the developed technologies of todays society. The internet and the cell phone serve as a means of making appointments and accessing ones records. The entire strategy behind Hello Health is meant to make life more convenient and affordable for both the patient and the doctor (Reporter’s Book Case Studies in Social Innovation and Creative Communities). Commitment to excellence Hello Health is known for its commitment to excellence, challenging work environment and to the community. This online clinic has a commitment to safeguard health concerns, provide best services to its customers, provide the best working environment for teamwork, creative thinking, respect, and open communication amongst its employees, and remain responsible to society at large. The clinic has a policy of using its own panel of doctors to service patients when they are called upon to do so online. This online clinic manages its innovative process by focusing on individual patients. It is an organization started by Dr. Parkinson where patients could make appointments through internet and Dr. Parkinson would do house calls in Williamsburg. The organization transformed into a platform that is currently used by a group of doctors who conduct patient services through the internet or official visits. Hello Health’s modus operandi Hello Health provides services to its patients through appointment with its registered doctors over the internet, the telephone and even text messages. A client can contact his/her doctor any time and schedule appointments. If requested, the doctor will make house visits or meet in the Hello Health practice. For smaller health concerns, the advice given over the internet is adequate. Prescriptions are made by the doctor over the internet and certain generic medications are distributed to the patients for free. Hello Health is presently managed by three practicing doctors as well as the founder and manager, Dr. Jay Parkinson, who no longer sees patients but actively pursues the activities of the organization. Moreover, there are thirty more people who are active in developing the internet site and take care of numerous requests from doctors wishing to join the project. Ultimately, there are hundreds of registered clients without whom it would not be possible to have the site. It is because of these spirited, health conscious individuals that the vision of Dr. Jay Parkinson is continuing to make progress. The doctors of Hello Health are men and women of substantial experience and qualify for a learning environment in the clinic. As qualified and experienced members, they are in a position to foster a learning environment in the company to encourage innovation and growth (Reporter’s Book Case Studies in Social Innovation and Creative Communities). The Adaptability of Hello Health Thus, the panel of doctors at the clinic has succeeded in establishing an attitude for competitive and healthy growth with a socio-economic thrust that balances health needs with economic advantages. The mission of Hello Health is to combine the old methods of the healthcare industry with its inherent features of house calls and personal relationships with doctors and integrate them with the new technologies such as the internet to create better doctor-patient communication. Hello Health is an innovative breakthrough in the health care industry and will help to bridge the growing communication gap between the doctor and patients in the neighborhood. The busy lifestyles of the patients make it difficult for them to wait in queue awaiting their turn for appointment with the doctors. The online clinic greatly reduces the waiting time by keeping the line of communication open between the doctors and patients through the use of the internet (Reporter’s Book Case Studies in Social Innovation and Creative Communities). The average patient The average age of the patient in Hello Health is 35 years and the youngest patient is 2 years old. The socio-economic profile of the patients is middle-class person, family and senior citizens who want convenient health care option. The motivation of the patients is availability of cost effective and convenient health care. The clinic’s online facility provides the patients the ability to communicate with their doctors whenever they need to through the internet, on the phone, or by making an appointment to visit their doctor when they need care. Generally, the patients at Hello Health have the peace of mind in the knowledge that they have a doctor available to them whenever they are in need. If requested, the doctor will make house visits. The direct communication with the doctor obviates the need for any intermediaries such as the secretary. All that a patient needs is access to the internet. For smaller health concerns, the communication and advice given over the internet is adequate (Reporter’s Book Case Studies in Social Innovation and Creative Communities). Payments Payments can be made directly during the visit or over the internet. Hello Health provides all the information regarding costs for all types of doctor-client communication and treatment on the internet. Patients do not have to take off an entire day to visit the doctor, but can schedule an appointment during the lunch break. Hello Health is a for profit organization. After registering on the internet site and meeting with a doctor, the patient pays a monthly subscription fee of $35.This monthly fee goes directly towards the emails, quick questions and all the time a doctor spends keeping their patient well between the visits. Other payments are made directly through the internet. A simple visit from the doctor or an online consultation costs $100, whereas a moderate visit costs $150. A long and complex house visit is priced at $200, and emails to ones doctor are always for free (Reporter’s Book Case Studies in Social Innovation and Creative Communities). Hello Health in an urban environment Life in a big city is an interminable war. And the worst casualty is time. There is so much to do that there is never enough time to do it. In this scenario, the online service offered by Hello Health is a great boon. There is a tremendous saving on time as a doctor is available online, and this cuts down the need to travel to the dispensary, wait your turn in the queue, and travel again to purchase the medicines from the drugstore. Moreover, in the time of ill health it adds to the discomfiture of the patient if she or he has to travel to meet the doctor and wait her or his turn. An invigorating factor The availability of solutions to health issues at the click of a mouse button from qualified and experienced doctors sounds very encouraging. One must thank the inventor of the internet to make it possible. The invention of the internet has suddenly made difficult propositions easier. The provision of health care online is one of the profound uses of the internet in an area where sometimes the advice of a doctor can come between life and death. Hello Health has struck the right chord by making available treatment to different illnesses through the internet. The step is bold and innovative since there is preference for the doctor’s physical presence for medical checkup of the patient. The fact that qualified and experienced doctors are behind Hello Health project must acquiesce any doubt in the venture. Benefits to society One can perceive the benefits to society at large if doctors in big numbers embrace the Hello Health concept. Hello Health makes life easier for both the doctor and the patient by providing online services and save time in today’s fast paced society. The operations of Hello Health are environment friendly. Hello Health basically runs a paperless office because all appointments and patient charts are kept on the internet. Since everything that is usually done by paper in ordinary circumstances is now handled over the internet, the Hello Health process can be seen as environment friendly. Furthermore, patients do not have to travel to dispensaries and hospitals, saving car rides and other transportation means. Around 36 people are involved in Hello Health. There are 30 website developers, four doctors, of which one is the founder and manager of the organization. The practice also has a large amount of medications prescribed to the patient in stock, so trips to a Duane Read or another pharmacy are spared to the client. The organization has the intention to expand the number of doctors involved in Hello Health (Reporter’s Book Case Studies in Social Innovation and Creative Communities). Demand for online services The demand for online doctors’ services is quite high and Hello Health does not feel the need now for diversifying into other health activities such as bed services and surgery. Nonetheless, there are possibilities to create better value through diversification at a later stage. Industries such as travel and tourism could serve to augment health online services such as Hello Health for better value. Hello Health has consistently followed the path of technological research and innovation. Its policy of treating its patients as its key asset has greatly enhanced its visibility in the health scenario. Hello Health has scrupulously followed its vision to grow by registering more doctors into its activities. These factors have positively contributed to its competitive advantage. The clinic has improved its competitive stake through good performance of its doctors, word-of-mouth publicity, and its growing network of patients and enquirers. The clinic’s emphasis on growth through emerging technologies and geographical expansion has paid rich dividends in terms of recognition and revenues. Easy Accessibility The city life is well known for its queues. Whatever you do, whenever you do it, wherever you go, there is bound to be the ubiquitous queue. The queue is no stranger to the medical line. The queue becomes unbearable in situations when one is not in good health. By taking the health issue online, Hello Health have dealt a blow to the nuisance queue and happily brought the patient back to an extremely easy platform from where he could get his health issues worked out. The laudatory efforts of Hello Health have made it possible in certain cases to almost as good as bring the doctor home. The excitement of such a treatment in many cases must be seen to be believed. The grateful patients have the same feel that one has on finding treasures. Will it last? The euphoria over the discovery of online treatment for health problems does make one ask the question – how long will it last? Obviously, the answer is difficult to provide. Hello Health is a new organization. Hence, Hello Health is not in position to answer this question. Nevertheless, the answer is there. The concept has taken place, and there will be competition as more people and organizations will be ready to try their hand at online treatment. Hello Health has made a good start. Its manner of working and the doctors’ team together with the thirty employees who are working on the internet make it obvious that the doctors mean business. However even if something was to happen and Hello Health pulled down the shutters, there are others waiting to make their presence felt in the same arena. The competition is yet to begin. But it will begin. There can be no doubt about it. The long term prospects There is some doubt about the longevity of the project on the pattern of Hello Health. With all the benefits available on online medical care, there are limitations to the extent that Hello Health can reliably provide health advice. The services made available by Hello Health cannot replace the ones available in a full-fledged hospital. There is also the fact that large hospitals with ambulance services are irreplaceable during emergencies. However, there are some interesting facts and figures. People in poor suburbs make up more than two-fifths of the total population of the suburbs, but use only about one-fifth of hospital care in the suburbs (Researchers Document Social and Health Issues Affecting the 100 Largest U.S. Cities and Their Suburbs) Hence, there is a vast majority of health cases that go unnoticed by the hospitals. There is a great potential for online projects such as Hello Health to narrow this gap by taking up such health cases by their individual appeal and, if necessary, transfer them to the hospitals. The complementary role played by Hello Health in such exercise can avert many difficult and complicated cases and save lives. Conclusion The clinic is wedded to its policy of providing prompt and efficient services to its clientele. The clinic is focused on excellence in services through constant updates on the latest in the field of medicine and medical technology. The clinic also provides challenging, enjoyable and rewarding work environment that enables its employees achieve peak performance. With these strategic concepts of services improvement and marketing wisdom, Hello Health has been able to sustain its leading position in online medical services. In conclusion, this organization represents all the characteristics of a modern and patient oriented doctors’ practice. The concept behind the idea is one that should serve as a model for future health care systems, being environmentally friendly and remodeled in order to fit a person in todays hectic lifestyle. Sources: Reporter’s Book Case Studies in Social Innovation and Creative Communities, DS2_Hello Health_A2PC.pdf Researchers Document Social and Health Issues Affecting the 100 Largest U.S. Cities and Their Suburbs, http://www.rwjf.org/reports/grr/040836.htm Read More