SAN DIEGO, April 2, 2019 — North County Health Services (NCHS), a private not-for-profit community health center, has been leveraging eConsults to advance the reach of its primary care services to underserved populations for the past three years. The eConsult platform has become such an integral resource for providers that the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) pays for all patient eConsults not covered by healthcare payer contracts. This year, NCHS dedicates its 2019 gala ‘A Passion for Healing’ to advancing the use of eConsult technology within its 12 locations around the San Diego and Riverside areas. NCHS will donate a challenge gift to support telehealth funding from the Hunter Advised Fund of $150,000, along with the proceeds raised from the gala’s silent and live auctions toward this effort.
“As a community health center, our mission is to address disparities in care and advance the opportunity of access to care for our patients. In a very real sense, there’s an ethical driver behind adopting more innovative care that addresses the needs of the patient in an effective way. As a medical director, the question that is always top of my mind is: how can we re-architect our healthcare system to achieve more, in an accountable way, with the same or fewer resources? How can we present solutions to the dilemmas that primary care is facing in our country?” said Dr. Denise Gomez, associate medical director of NCHS.
“This is a golden opportunity for us as clinicians to take the steps needed to accept the challenge and leadership it takes to advance care. We’re faced with many challenges throughout the county, and AristaMD is the way to advance care in a short period of time,” said Dr. Patrick Tellez, chief medical officer of NCHS, regarding eConsult platform implementation.
To date, 72 percent of NCHS’ eConsults through AristaMD’s platform have resolved patients’ issues, and an astounding 91 percent of them have significantly influenced patient care plans. eConsults are empowering the primary care provider with access to AristaMD’s network of specialists to deliver better, more efficient and accessible care to patients.
AristaMD enables primary care providers and patients to engage in virtual collaborations with a national panel of top specialists. By expanding its panel of specialists, AristaMD is able to provide excellent, rapid care for patients, who may usually wait weeks to months to see a specialist.
“We greatly value our partnership with NCHS and are honored that our platform has made such a profound difference in the delivery of care for NCHS that the organization’s annual gala would be dedicated to eConsults,” said Brooke LeVasseur, CEO of AristaMD. “We look forward to continuing to work together and to stand by them at the gala as a sponsor and partner.”
The Hunter Advised Fund, which invests in the community to impact change, is a longtime supporter of telehealth funding. When hearing of the goal to expand eConsults, it quickly offered to donate $50,000 per year, for three years, if NCHS’ donors can match it each year. “When Barbara Kennedy, president and CEO of NCHS, explained the issues with specialists and patient care and how eConsults are already making a measurable impact, we were enthusiastic to lend our support,” said Ann Hunter-Welborn, Hunter Advised Fund representative.
NCHS’s gala will be held at the Westin Carlsbad Resort & Spa on April 6, 2019. Sunset cocktails with a coastal view will be a gateway to an enchanting evening of fine dining and dancing to the music of the Ben Mallare band. All telehealth funding raised will go to supporting eConsults, the AristaMD platform that links NCHS’s care providers with specialists to greatly enhance its patients’ healthcare experience. If you are interested in sponsorship or attending, please find out more at: http://bit.ly/2FnVKVR.