Benefits of U.C. Mobile Health Clinics
Generates Cost Savings
Mobile health clinics will have the potential to generate significant cost savings. The Mobile Health Clinics Network (MHCN), a national trade association including over 330 organizations, have calculated the return on investment of their mobile clinics, finding that they range from four to forty (Lynch, 2011). This means, that for every $1 spent on running a mobile health clinic, the clinic earns back anywhere from $4 to $40 as a result of the services it provides. Another cost-benefit analysis of Mobile Health Clinics examined The Family Van sponsored by Harvard Medical School finding that the Family Van saved $36 for every $1 on the clinic (Oriol et al., 2009). |
Trains Students
Mobile health clinics have benefits far beyond cost-savings they help train students for their future careers in a setting where they can develop empathy for under-served populations. As one UCLA mobile clinic volunteer explains, “I feel like the clinic has taught me ways to bring multiple components together to be able to link patients with the social and the health resources that they need to help improve their lives and to also improve their health. And most of all, I think I will take with me and carry with me the collaborative spirit that helps the clinic thrive, where everyone plays a part in making it a success every week.” |
Creates Community Partnerships
Mobile clinics will bring together U.C. medical schools and their local communities, so together, they can help more of California’s most vulnerable while strengthening ties between the U.C. school system and stakeholders. Community partnerships will ensure cost-effective implementation of the U.C. Mobile Health Clinic project and reinforce U.C. schools as institutions dedicated to addressing pressing social issues in their communities. |
sources:
Lynch, Jessica Erin. (2011). Strategic Plan: John Muir Health, Making the Case for Mobile Health.
Oriol, Nancy E., Cote, Paul J., Vavasis, Anthony P., Bennet, Jennifer., DeLorenzo, Darien, Blanc, Philip, Kohane, Isaac. (2009). Calculating the Return on Investment of Mobile Healthcare. BMC Medicine, 7(27).
Lynch, Jessica Erin. (2011). Strategic Plan: John Muir Health, Making the Case for Mobile Health.
Oriol, Nancy E., Cote, Paul J., Vavasis, Anthony P., Bennet, Jennifer., DeLorenzo, Darien, Blanc, Philip, Kohane, Isaac. (2009). Calculating the Return on Investment of Mobile Healthcare. BMC Medicine, 7(27).