VICTORIA – Telus is behind a new “clinic on wheels” delivering primary healthcare to the city’s most vulnerable citizens.
In association with Doctors of the World, the Mobile Health Clinic acts as a vital link between the community and the health authority, enabling the reconnection of homeless citizens to the public health and social services network.
Unveiled late Wednesday, the Mobile Health Clinic is equipped with Telus Health’s electronic medical record (EMR) technology and Telus LTE Wi-Fi network technology to assist the onboard care team in delivering immediate, quality care. Skilled practitioners may collect and store data, examine results over time, and provide better continuity of care to patients who previously had undocumented medical histories.
This Telus Health for Good program is part of the company’s larger Connecting for Good portfolio, which also includes Internet for Good, offering low cost high speed internet to low income families, and Mobility for Good, which provides fully subsidized smartphones and data plans to youth transitioning out of foster care.
“We believe that everyone should have access to healthcare when and where they need it regardless of their socio-economic status, which is why we’ve expanded our Telus Health for Good program to Victoria,” said Telus Health EVP Josh Blair, in the news release. “Through our collaboration with Doctors of the World, we’re connecting with community partners and leveraging the power of our technology to deliver customized, compassionate care and enable better health outcomes for more Canadians in need.”
Telus and Doctors of the World rolled out their first specially-equipped mobile health clinic in Montreal in 2014 which has since provided care to more than 7,500 people, with nearly half of these patients being successfully reintegrated into the public health system.
Telus added that it is working with health authorities and community partners in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton to expand this innovative mobile healthcare clinic model, and ultimately aims to introduce Telus Health for Good nationally.
