National University Nurse-Managed Clinic in Watts, Los Angeles Collaborates with Telehealth Companies to Expand Access to Virtual Health Care Services
Los Angeles, Calif. (PRWEB) September 26, 2016 -- Virtual health care technology providers Health Net Connect and iAssay are collaborating with National University’s Nurse-Managed Clinic in Watts, Los Angeles to support the clinic’s mission to improve health care access for residents. The clinic project, led by the University with the involvement of various organizations and community groups, is incorporating cutting-edge technologies to support patient health by connecting residents at specially-designated sites with nurse practitioners at remote locations.
The National University Nurse-Managed Clinic, the result of a grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA*) to the University’s School of Health and Human Service, is based out of National University’s Los Angeles campus. The advanced technologies provided by Health Net Connect and iAssay will allow for the campus to be connected through telehealth technologies to a variety of easily-accessible locations, including churches.
“We are pleased to have the opportunity to collaborate with Health Net Connect and iAssay on this very important cutting edge initiative, which will provide virtual technology capabilities to extend the reach of the primary care provider, improving access to primary care services for our most vulnerable communities,” said Dr. Gloria J. McNeal, Dean of the National University School of Health and Human Services.
Through the project, which launched this year, neighborhood sites in Watts are staffed and include multi-purpose space as private patient exam rooms, medical equipment and video capabilities that connect with the Clinic’s healthcare team, which include nurse practitioners from National University and other healthcare organizations. Students from National University who are studying nursing and other health care specialties, such as health informatics, will also have the opportunity to gain valuable clinical experience in these new models of health care through collaborations with trained professionals.
“We are very pleased to be collaborating with the National University Nurse-Managed Clinic on such an innovative virtual health care project that provides residents with access to care that can help to greatly enhance and fill in many of the clinical gaps in the continuum of care,” said Stephen Shaya M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Health Net Connect.
The systems the Clinic teams will be using include:
• A clinical grade all-in-one, user-friendly telemedicine and telehealth platform developed by Health Net Connect that incorporates a unique combination of HIPAA and HITECH compliant video consultations, virtual house calls, FDA approved peripherals, triage and rounds, combined with the ability to take, store and retrieve patient vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, oxygenation, etc.) from anywhere to anywhere throughout the world.
• The iAssay® System provides a unique (patents pending) open platform that is the first-of-its-kind for wirelessly connected point-of-care diagnostics. The device, which conforms to HIPAA requirements, aggregates test/patient/wearables data and utilizes cloud computing. The device reduces multiple daily trips with blood samples to central labs by allowing patients to be tested at any location.
“It is a privilege to be involved in this very important community health project,” said Lonnie Adelman, CEO of iAssay, Inc. “In addition to helping underserved and at-risk populations on their path to better health, this clinic will serve as a model for clinics of the future, driving the innovations needed to shape the future of healthcare all over the United States.”
National University Provost, Dr. Gangaram Singh, said the project will also afford students, who are currently enrolled in eight different health professions curricula of study the opportunity to gain familiarity with virtual health technology systems, taught utilizing an inter-professional education model of program delivery.
“This project provides our students with unique, current opportunities to gain skills that will shape the future of our health care system, and it furthers our own commitment as a University to give back to the communities we serve,” he said.
To learn more about the project and the community and faith-based groups involved: http://www.nu.edu/News/NU-Opens-Virtual-Healthcare-Clinic-LosAngeles.html
About National University
Founded in 1971, National University is one of the largest private, nonprofit universities in California. With more than 150,000 alumni, National University is the flagship institution of the National University System. National University is dedicated to making lifelong learning opportunities accessible, challenging, and relevant to a diverse population of students. Four schools and two colleges – the College of Letters and Sciences; the Sanford College of Education; the School of Business and Management; the School of Engineering and Computing; the School of Health and Human Services; and the School of Professional Studies – offer more than 100 graduate and undergraduate degrees and 23 teacher credentials. Programs are offered at locations throughout California and across the nation, and are also available online. National University is headquartered in La Jolla, California. http://www.nu.edu/
About Health Net Connect
(HNC) is a member of the J&B Medical Supply family of companies. Health Net Connect is a fast-paced, highly-focused telehealth product and solution provider based in Wixom, MI. Health Net Connect’ s mission as a telemedicine solutions company is to overcome traditional healthcare delivery challenges through a forward thinking innovative virtual clinic approach by providing clients with a clinical grade all-in-one, user-friendly telemedicine and telehealth platform. Various VideoDocTM solutions are designed to deliver substantial savings in healthcare costs for patients, measurable improvements in patient outcomes, expanded physician specialist availability, and significant reductions in time, travel and expense. Health Net Connect’s telemedicine solution offers a unique combination of HIPAA and HITECH compliant video consultations, virtual house calls, FDA approved peripherals, triage and rounds, combined with the ability to take, store and retrieve patient vitals from anywhere to anywhere throughout the world. http://healthnetconnect.com/
About iAssay
The iAssay® System (patents pending) is the world’s 1st Open Platform for wirelessly-connected Point of Care diagnostics. The functionality of a closet full of single function readers is replaced by a single handheld device and adaptor plug-ins, to adapt nearly any Point of Care test cartridge to the iAssay® System. The device HIPAA-compliantly aggregates test/patient/wearables data and pushes all data into The Cloud. iAssay eliminates multiple daily trips with blood samples to central labs by testing the patient wherever they are. Testing at a clinic or at the patients’ bedside in a few minutes eliminates test result delays (and delayed diagnosis), eliminates sample handling and transportation costs, improves patient outcomes, and saves the healthcare system money. http://iassay.net/
- This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UD7HP28533, NEPQR-IPCP for $1,492,759, and is supplemented with 53% of nongovernmental sources, including in-kind support. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government
Anna Cearley, National University, http://www.nu.edu/, +1 (858) 642-8163, [email protected]
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