Healthcare providers face numerous challenges, and one of the biggest is ensuring they provide access to the people who need them. Not all patients can walk into a doctor’s office or clinic whenever they need care. They may live in isolated areas far from brick-and-mortar locations and without easy access to transportation. They may suffer from disabilities that make leaving their homes exceedingly difficult. They may be reluctant to show up for appointments out of a fear of doctor’s offices. Whatever the case may be, providers and practices owe it to the communities they serve to extend their services to these individuals so everyone can receive the care they need.
If a patient is unable or unwilling to make the trip to a traditional office or clinic, the next best alternative is to bring services to them where they are. A mobile health clinic is one increasingly popular way providers are meeting this need. Much in the same way doctors used to provide house calls on a regular basis, mobile clinics bring the services and capabilities needed to treat patients wherever they may be. At the same time, these customized vehicles can serve as a powerful form of outreach, offering underserved populations the opportunity to see what a provider can do for them without having to travel long distances.
If your practice or clinic wants to improve the level of care it provides and meet the needs of the community, a mobile health clinic can be a great way to do it. However, making such an investment requires some careful planning as well as a full understanding of the need among the populations you serve.
Understanding the Needs of the Community
The most appropriate starting point when creating a mobile health clinic is to perform a thorough assessment of what the community needs. It isn’t enough to start driving around offering the same services you do in your permanent locations. Your mobile clinic should be geared toward meeting concrete needs throughout the community, and you need to know what those are if you want your efforts to be successful.
Begin by looking at where your physical locations are and identifying any limitations that may be preventing people in the area from visiting. Remote or difficult-to-access areas — especially rural spots — should receive a higher priority than more-developed areas where access to your services is relatively high. This means figuring out how long it would take a patient to reach you as well as how well your locations are served by public transit. This gives you a better idea of where your mobile clinic will make the most impact.
Another critical element of this needs assessment is communicating with community members and leaders. Survey your patients as well as those living in underserved areas to get a better sense of what types of services would be most beneficial when provided in a mobile clinic vehicle. If there are charities or human services organizations in these areas, consider partnering with them to leverage their knowledge of the needs in those parts of the community.
Finally, you should spend some time thinking about the team you’ll need to build to staff your mobile clinic. Because a major element of a mobile health clinic is reaching out to patients who otherwise might be reluctant to seek care, you should place an emphasis on team members who project warmth and understanding. Creating a friendly, warm environment is key to helping your patients overcome their misgivings and place their trust in their caregivers.
Designing Your Mobile Health Clinic
Mobile health clinics can take many different forms. You can convert a box truck, build a custom trailer, purchase a medical van, or change an RV into a rolling clinic, among other options. In some cases, you may be able to find a ready-made vehicle that may need some minor tweaking for your purposes. By and large, however, many providers choose to start from the ground up to ensure they have all the features and equipment they need to deliver exceptional care.
Here’s a general rundown of the steps you need to take when designing a mobile medical clinic:
- Choose an experienced designer and fabricator: Mobile health clinics are complicated vehicles, and with so many different options available it’s important for healthcare providers to choose the right partner. Companies that specialize in designing and fabricating custom health vehicles like CGS Premier can provide the guidance and advice needed to help you make the right choices as well as avoid mistakes or oversights that can compromise the finished product.
- Select the right vehicle type: Will your mobile clinic programs be used primarily to offer outreach and a few outpatient services? In that case, a van might be the right fit. On the other hand, a mobile dental clinic that provides all the same services as a regular office should be built inside a trailer or RV to ensure there’s enough space for all the equipment and for clinicians to work as comfortably as possible.Naturally, the budget you set for your mobile medical clinic project will play an important role in determining what you will use. This is another area in which working with experienced fabricators can ensure the best results.
- Plan out the interior: Obviously the space inside a vehicle is going to be less than what you would have in a brick-and-mortar building, which means you have to make every square inch count. Having the expertise of an experienced fabricator on your side is essential for this portion of the work, as your partner can help you maximize the use of space while still ensuring you have room for all essential equipment and furniture. At the same time, your fabrication partner can help plan the space so technicians and providers have a comfortable and efficient workflow that doesn’t hinder the level of care they provide and helps patients feel at ease.
- Build your new mobile clinic: After the design has been finalized, the next step is to build out the vehicle. A fully integrated fabricator can provide virtually every aspect of the work, and choosing one that has specific expertise in healthcare vehicles means you can rest assured no detail will be overlooked. An experienced partner also can ensure the right materials are selected so your new mobile clinic will have the durability you need for long-term use without adding unnecessary weight that impacts fuel efficiency.
- Take it out to meet your patients: The final step in the process is to hit the road and start providing care to your target patient populations. Rather than stopping in a location once, it’s recommended that mobile clinics visit the same locations multiple times to give patients the opportunity to discover it and help build trust that these mobile services will not be temporary. It’s also recommended that mobile clinics vary the times of day they visit specific locales, as some patients may not be available at certain times. Be sure to invest in promotion and outreach to let existing and potential patients know about the mobile services and when they can expect to see your new vehicle in their areas.
Benefits of Mobile Health Clinics
Taking your healthcare services on the road to meet patients where they live can have dramatic benefits for your practice as well as for the people you serve.
Benefits for Patients:
- Enhanced Convenience: Patients who don’t have the means to get to a clinic or doctor’s office building may find mobile healthcare services far more convenient. This means they may not have to take time off from work or family responsibilities to receive care or rely on others to give them a ride.
- Better Outcomes: Because they don’t need to wait until they have the time or means to go in for an appointment, patients who receive mobile healthcare receive the care they need faster. This can be important for those suffering from chronic conditions that require more-frequent visits.
- Stronger Preventive Care: In many cases, simply providing access to trained medical professionals to offer preventive care and guidance on healthier lifestyle choices can lead to drastic improvements in community health and well-being. A mobile clinic vehicle gives your practice the ability to meet with more people and spread the word on healthier living more effectively, which can reduce the community’s reliance on emergency and urgent care.
Benefits for Healthcare Providers:
- More Trust: Showing your willingness to go out into the community and meet with patients where they are can go a long way toward strengthening your position as a trusted provider. This can be very beneficial in ensuring patients follow your guidance and take better care of themselves.
- Greater Agility: A mobile clinic means you no longer need to wait for your patients to find time to see you. Instead, you’ll be able to expand your services beyond your physical location, enabling your practice to serve more people and with greater flexibility than you had before.
- Better Understanding: Reaching out to patients in underserved areas also provides your practice with more understanding of the health issues your community faces. Rather than a self-selected patient population made up of those able and willing to visit your physical location, the larger number of people you serve can provide you with more insight into the overall health of the community. This means you can react with better accuracy to achieve better outcomes for everyone.
Let CGS Premier Put Your Practice on the Road
CGS Premier is a leading designer and fabricator of mobile medical units, and we have expertise with virtually all types. From medical vans to RVs to box trucks to ADA-compliant drop trailers, we can provide your practice with the solution that provides the best possible fit for your services, your patients, and your budgetary constraints.
Our expertise in designing and building these medical vehicles means we can help you realize your vision. We can provide you with a vehicle that includes exam rooms, imaging and diagnostic equipment integration, climate control, reception areas, and more. Our experience also extends to specialized care including dental clinics, eye care, wellness services, and infusion treatments.
No matter what you need to serve your patients, our experts will work closely alongside you to fine-tune your designs and make certain they’re fully optimized for your needs. If you’re ready to get the process started as soon as possible, all you need to do next is reach out and connect with a member of our staff to start talking about your mobile medical clinic.
