St. Augustine, Florida-based Flagler Health+ opened the first of about five telehealth clinics that the hospital plans to place at Publix pharmacies in St. Johns County, Florida.
The telehealth kiosk is staffed remotely, either by local Flagler Health+ physicians or by American Well physicians. American Well, a telehealth provider platform, also powers the technology for the telehealth kiosks.
Each telehealth kiosk has teleconferencing equipment for the patient and the doctor to communicate. The kiosks also contain items including a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter, and thermometer, which patients can use and then record their results into a computer the physician can access.
The doctor will instruct the patient to use certain equipment during the visit, or the patient can use the equipment and provide the vital statistics before seeing the doctor.
The average wait time to see a doctor after filling out necessary information and paying any necessary fees is around 10 minutes. After the telehealth consultation, the doctor provides a diagnosis, and any prescriptions can be filled at the Publix pharmacy.
The copay, which patients need to pay before seeing the doctor, is $59. Publix pharmacists are available to assist patients through the appointment.
Publix has a similar partnership with BayCare Health System in Tampa, providing telehealth sites to four counties in the Tampa Bay area.
“We recognize that not only here, but in the United States, there’s an affordability issue,” said Flagler Health+ President and CEO Jason Barrett. “And we recognize that we can provide care in a meaningful way with our key partnerships. We both came together to recognize that we’re going to have to do something together to address not only access, but affordability.”
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See further coverage in the Jacksonville Daily Record.