“He left the office with a brighter outlook on life.”
— Medina Clinic in Grandview, Missouri
The Medina Clinic is a not-for-profit medical clinic specializing in chronic diseases and serving the health needs of the residents of Jackson County, Missouri and surrounding areas. In early 2022, the Medina Clinic received new point-of-care laboratory equipment through Heart to Heart International’s Adopt-a-Lab program, sponsored by EVERSANA.
This equipment enables providers at Medina Clinic to perform tests and give patients the results in one visit, adjusting medications and treatments as needed. This capability helped staff at the Medina Clinic provide improved care when a 57-year-old gentleman came to the clinic for a diabetes follow up.
The man described troubles he was having with his blood sugars and medications. He felt like his diabetes was under poor control. But when providers ran the A1c test in the patient room in front of him, it was determined his A1c was down from 10 to 8. He was managing better than he had thought.
“He was very happy with his progress and stated how so much more encouraged he felt regarding the care of his chronic condition. Some minor changes to his medications were made, and he left the office with a brighter outlook on life.“
Patients who are able to see a medical provider and have testing performed while they wait have improved patient experiences and outcomes because barriers to care, including lack of reliable transportation, expensive costs and unreliable communication are all eliminated.
That is exactly how the point-of-care laboratory helped a patient at Esperanza Health Center Health Services Clinic, which had a laboratory installed earlier this year. The patient had problems trying to get laboratory testing in the past. The first time the patient went, she had trouble finding the laboratory located inside the hospital. When she finally found it, she realized that she did not know she had to go to a different building for a COVID-19 screening prior to entering the laboratory. The next time she attempted, she had trouble parking and ultimately got a parking ticket for $100.
“Having the point of care capabilities is such a benefit to both the patients and the providers,” said a representative from Esperanza Center. “For patients, the convenience of not having to go to a different location that they are not familiar with is a welcome change. And for providers who are able to get real-time clinical information that can help guide treatment planning helps us to be so much more efficient.”
Heart to Heart International installs point-of-care laboratory equipment through a partnership with BD, NAFC and Henry Schein through the BD Point-of-Care, Enhancing Clinical Effectiveness (PoCECE) initiative. HHI also works with other corporations through its Adopt-a-Lab program, which allows corporations to “adopt” clinics through HHI’s installation and support of the laboratories.