DENVER – A Colorado company has a new idea with an old-school feel: bringing healthcare house calls back so sick patients can receive treatment for illnesses like the flu from home.
DispatchHealth deploys a physician’s assistant and EMT team to a patient’s home. From there, patients receive the same treatments they can get in a brick-and-mortar urgent care facility as well as some additional services.
Last year, almost 23 million Americans visited doctors’ offices for the flu. DispatchHealth said their service cuts out wait times for patients and prevents the spread of more germs.
“During flu season, the benefit is that we are coming to you and flu is really contagious, and you see a lot of other bugs that are out as well. When you go into a brick-and-mortar setting, you might be exposed to all those other germs that are in that setting,” said Melanie Plaksin with DispatchHealth.
In Colorado so far this flu season, 10 people have been hospitalized because of the flu. Last year, 4,650 Coloradans were hospitalized with the flu, setting the record for the highest number of hospitalizations ever recorded.
Health experts are urging everyone to get flu shots this year, especially to protect vulnerable groups like the young and elderly.
Flu season is expected to go through mid-May.