LifeLineMobile Blog

Reducing Healthcare Costs

In 2017, drug overdose deaths in the United States were more than 70,000, which is almost 200 per day.  This was nearly a 10 percent increase from 2016.

Mobile dental clinics continually prove to be successful solutions for rural and urban populations where it’s difficult to provide adequate oral healthcare to the community. The benefits of mobile units not only serves to deliver much needed dental health, but also instills a sense of comfort and support to the community, knowing local institutions care about their health. 

In the United States breast cancer is the most common type among women after skin cancer, and is second only to lung cancer in related deaths.  Thirteen percent of women nationwide will develop an invasive form of breast cancer in their lifetime.  However, breast cancer mortality rate has been declining over the past 30 years due to an increase in awareness for the need to have regular mammography screenings and the advancements in treatment.  According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), women at least 40 years old should get a mammogram annually, even if they are otherwise in good health, with other sources suggesting a maximum age of 50 years old.

If you only have 5 percent of the healthcare market in your service area, imagine if you edged up just 1 point to 6 percent.  That is 20 percent growth for your FQHC or hospital.  Consider a mid-sized hospital system with $350 million in revenues, that 20 percent growth is a significant $70 million.

Mobile Medical Units, often referred to as Mobile Health Clinics or MHCs, provide innovative and flexible healthcare delivery to vulnerable, rural, urban and generally underserved populations. Though often misunderstood, and sometimes not fully utilized, mobile health units can provide continuity of care in a number of ways, including:

Mobile health care units are medical offices on wheels.  In many cases they are used to serve the underprivileged, homeless and those with behavioral health disorders.  Those that are disenfranchised in these ways can often receive basic health care on a mobile medical unit at no charge, or are helped to connect with available health insurance.  These mobile medical units travel to multiple locations to serve rural and urban populations, typically helping those who are homeless and do not have insurance.

Dental professionals are continually looking for ways to improve outcomes and better serve their communities.  Many consider how mobile dental health units may help in these endeavors and want to ensure their program will succeed.

Mobile medical clinics are customized vehicles which typically travel to urban and rural communities, many times targeting underserved low-income and minority populations who have a disproportionate burden of ill health and would benefit the most from the care provided to them by a mobile clinic.  Other mobile units offer pediatric services at schools for immunizations, asthma screening, vision screening, and more.  Most times, the goal is to deliver primary care for people who don’t have a healthcare home, or who cannot or will not seek preventive care.  In the school setting, healthcare professionals can spot problems that parents don’t see.  Mobile clinics are an integral component of the broader healthcare systems throughout the world, serving vulnerable populations and promoting high-quality care at low cost in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Ukraine and beyond.