Cary And now America's Healthcare Advocate, Carry Hall. Hello, America. Welcome to America's Healthcare Advocate show broadcast on coast to coast, from Alaska to Florida all the way to Hawaii. We are broadcasting today from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, here at the Cape. 1550 AM. 100.3 FM. This is one in our series of shows we are doing with Saint Francis Health Care Systems. My producer is Mr. Paul Vernon. I'm your host, Carey Hall. Once again, we thank you for joining us and making this one of the most listened-to talk shows throughout the United States. 294 affiliates strong, our newest one in Cannon, Colorado. Want to welcome them on board. When you listen to these shows, if you want to tell somebody about what you hear, go back up and revisit our broadcast. They are posted on podcast platforms. SoundCloud, iTunes, TuneIn, Spotify, Apple Play, and Audacy. So we're on all of those platforms. We've probably got about 3 to 4000 people a month going out there and listening to these shows. It's a great way to share this if you want to tell somebody about it. They're all labeled. So, you know, when it ran or what it was, what was the topic? 00;01;55;11 - 00;02;12;01 Cary If you want to reach out to me, if you've got a need, whether it's health care, health insurance, whatever the case may be, and you can do that at Health Radio DOT U.S. That is the Web site. I get e-mails from there every day and I'm happy to answer any of those emails I can and help you out, anything that I can help you with. 00;02;12;02 - 00;02;56;04 Cary All right. Joining me from Saint Francis health care system is Candice Crow. She is a nurse practitioner. We are happy to have her in studio. Thank you for coming in on your day off today. Yes, I appreciate that. And Matt, Ewasko ACA administrator for Saint Francis health care system. Thank you, Matt. I care a little bit about our guests. Candice is an MSN APRN, NP-C nurse practitioner at Saint Francis Health Plans Wellness Center in Jackson, Missouri. A Saint Francis medical partner clinic earned her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She earned her master's degree of science degree in nursing from Maryville University in Saint Louis. 00;02;56;10 - 00;03;21;11 Cary Crow joined Saint Francis in 2021 from Saint Louis, Bariatric Saint Festus, Missouri, and previously worked at Saint Francis for 12 years. Crow has more than 15 years of health care experience and is a board certified American Association of Nurse Practitioner Matthew Ewasko MBA, CSPPM, He serves as the ACO administrator, Saint Francis Health Care Systems Accountable Care Organization. 00;03;21;17 - 00;03;51;03 Cary He is responsible for the centers of Medicare and Medicare Shared Savings Program, Compliance and financial matters relating to the ACO. Ewasko joined Saint Francis in 2018 as the surgical services business analyst before moving to his current role in May of 2021. His work with numerous departments within the health care system has enabled him to develop a very broad and diverse background, which is critical when working with special projects such as on demand, Urgent Care. 00;03;51;13 - 00;04;15;27 Cary That's what we're going to talk about today and budget planning, physician recruitment efforts, etc.. He also served as the administrator for Joint Venture Ambulatory Surgical Center, Physicians Alliance Surgery Center since February 2019. Wasco currently serves as an officer in the United States Navy Reserve Medical Corps. Welcome. Thank you and thank you for your service to the country. 00;04;15;27 - 00;04;16;29 Matt Appreciate it. Thank you very much. 00;04;17;12 - 00;04;32;15 Cary So let's let's just kind of dove into this and start with this program here at Saint Francis. Can you describe the academy? What is an ACO for audience? What does that mean and why? Why are you in this program? What does it mean for Saint Francis health care system? 00;04;33;11 - 00;05;04;05 Matt Well, the ACO, Sean Suite is that we are focusing on the the holistic view of a patient. So we are bringing our primary care providers such as Kansas here and then combining their expertize and knowledge level with our specialists to look at the patient as a whole, not to try and treat the issue that has come up, but to try and prevent it from coming in the future. 00;05;04;05 - 00;05;21;28 Matt So basically my role in that department is to assist our providers. But on the business side of it, so they are great and highly skilled on the medical side. And then I come in and I help them out on the back end, on the business side, on projects, planning, etc.. 00;05;22;17 - 00;05;43;04 Cary So, you know, talk a little bit about that canvas and he said holistic care and he and then he also said trying to prevent it from becoming a bigger problem. So that's one of the problems with health care in this country, is that we treat things after they've already become a big issue and not necessarily before they get to be a big issue. 00;05;43;04 - 00;05;52;26 Cary So someone that's prediabetic is an example, isn't a diabetic yet, but if you identify that, so talk a little bit about that and how that holistic care works within that process. 00;05;53;06 - 00;06;15;26 Candice So that is correct. And we're seeing more and more of that since COVID wellness visits and, you know, routine visits that people tend to have done once a year kind of by the wayside because people are afraid to go get their mammogram or go get their colonoscopy due to the fear of COVID. So where we come in is we look at the patient as a whole. 00;06;15;26 - 00;06;25;22 Candice We look at all what all the specialists have done, look at all the labs. We kind of gather all that information and put all the pieces of the puzzle together as far as the patient's care. 00;06;25;22 - 00;06;30;12 Cary And so then you have the whole picture of the need and the care, correct? 00;06;30;12 - 00;06;47;16 Candice We connect all the dots and find the patient's needs, future needs, current needs that may have slipped a crack here or there, especially with the pandemic. And we we jump on that and get the patient what they need before any problems arise. 00;06;48;06 - 00;07;14;12 Cary So Matt, was let's switch gears a little bit and talk about the virtual on demand program, the visits. And you know, it's interesting tie news back into COVID. Before we went on air, I was chatting with you guys about this. Have a 26 year health care broker have been for a long time. And one of the most difficult things we had to do was try to get people to use virtual care or Teladoc or telemedicine before it became virtual care. 00;07;14;12 - 00;07;37;24 Cary Even people just didn't want to do it. That changed with COVID. You know, we saw the numbers jump 90% by about the eight month that COVID was going through this country. And all of a sudden, virtual on demand became a big deal. So talk a little about how Saint Francis health care system has put that program together and how people are going to be able to utilize that. 00;07;38;16 - 00;08;20;28 Matt Yeah, I mean, we kind of saw the same thing within our system, right? A lot of our our patient population started using these video visits just cause either one, they couldn't make it into their provider's office or they were fearful to venture out and so forth. So we said, Hey, why not take advantage of this shift in our patient population mindset to provide a better service and reach our our population out there that that's maybe still hesitant to come to a primary care location or an immediate care location or the the main hospital itself. 00;08;20;28 - 00;08;29;22 Matt We already had the internal setup in the technology. And so now it's just working with our providers, getting them on board and then getting the word out. 00;08;30;03 - 00;08;32;05 Cary So he basically put all the pieces together. 00;08;32;05 - 00;08;32;18 Matt Exactly. 00;08;32;24 - 00;08;56;07 Cary Yeah. You know, interesting, Candace, because as we come on break here, we'll chat about this for just a minute. You don't go sit in a waiting room. You don't have to drive, find a place to park. Right. You can go on your iPhone, you can go on your desktop computer, connect directly with your doctor. I mean, my wife and I've been doing this survey since COVID and we still have in-patient visits, but nonetheless, we've done a lot of this. 00;08;56;16 - 00;09;04;10 Cary It's really kind of nice. It's just you, the doctor, and you've got, you know, quite a bit of time to go through whatever the issues are. It's a lot more convenient. 00;09;04;18 - 00;09;22;20 Candice Correct? And most people are most comfortable in their home, you know, home as a safe place for people. So if you can be of the comfort of your own couch for, you know, per se, then you don't have the expensive gas, you don't have to go in, like you mentioned, the waiting room. Sit, maybe wait 15, 20 minutes. 00;09;23;14 - 00;09;36;25 Candice We are trying right now, five minute wait time, which says that gets a little busier. That might be a little more difficult, but it's definitely our priority to make it convenient, fast and effective. 00;09;37;02 - 00;09;44;28 Cary I can't remember the last time I got into a doctor's office that a five minute wait time, that's that's a pretty lofty goal. You think you think that's going to work? 00;09;45;09 - 00;09;47;04 Matt I think so far it has. 00;09;47;04 - 00;09;48;01 Cary And that that's. 00;09;48;13 - 00;09;53;26 Matt That's our goal. It might be a lofty goal, but it's it's something to better the patient experience. 00;09;54;07 - 00;09;55;13 Candice It's definitely a start. 00;09;55;15 - 00;10;13;26 Cary I definitely think that's going to be an incentive if you've got a five minute wait. We'll be right back after the break. You're listening to America's health care advocate broadcasting here on the HIV radio network. If you want to learn more about virtual on demand, go to the Web site. S.F. emceed dot net. That's less virtual on demand. 00;10;13;26 - 00;10;23;16 Cary That is the website. Stay tuned. We've got more. You're listening to America's health care advocate broadcasting coast to coast across the U.S. We'll be right back. Don't go anywhere. 00;10;24;10 - 00;10;37;04 Speaker 4 Day, tell me down at my right. 00;10;37;04 - 00;10;59;16 Cary Welcome back. You're listening to America's health care advocates broadcasting coast to coast across the U.S. here on the HIV radio network. You can find out more about us by going to the website. Health Radio dot U.S. Health Radio Dot US. My producer, the always perfect Mr. Paul Vernon. I'm your host, Kari Hall. Thank you for joining us in Studio with me, Matt Blasko and Candace Crowe from Saint Francis Health Care System. 00;10;59;21 - 00;11;20;13 Cary We're talking about virtual on demand, health care that is available here throughout southeast Missouri with the Saint Francis health care system and trying to educate you on what's available to you. And five minute wait time, that's pretty good if you're going to see a doctor. So let's talk a little bit about the different ways that patients can access virtual on demand canvas. 00;11;20;21 - 00;11;47;19 Candice Okay. So if a patient's already established we our patient portal is called MyChart. If a patient already has that access, that's very easy either from their desktop computer or as long as there's a microphone in camera or from their smartphone, they can access their MyChart account. And there is a tab that says talk to a doctor. Once they get to that point, they can choose why they need to talk to a doctor. 00;11;48;02 - 00;12;24;12 Candice Now, what is going on? Is it a rash? Is it acne? Is it pinkeye or just a general video visit? If their need for some reason isn't listed on the list? So. And then once they start to do that, it will prompt them to get in line and that will come to us as providers to say there's a patient that's wanting to be seen so that we can get connected with them if for some reason they do not have our patient portal setup as of yet, they can go and make one from the website in the same spot, in the same area of the website, and request a visit as well. 00;12;24;21 - 00;12;37;27 Cary Okay. So that means that website is FMC Darknet backs less virtual on demand. So if they if they don't have this set up, they can go to that website and then there's a tab or something that walks them through how to do that. 00;12;38;06 - 00;12;58;19 Candice So there is the log in tab and if it says not signed up, there is a button you can click that will help you to sign up so that you can make your own mychart which is like I mentioned, our patient portal. So once that is done, then that's all they need to do. It will ask questions about current medications, current pharmacy, things of that nature. 00;13;00;04 - 00;13;04;18 Candice But they would be able to access care if they do not already have it set up. 00;13;05;04 - 00;13;28;20 Cary Okay, so it's 7:00 at night on a Sunday night and grandma and grandpa, I'm chronologically challenged with six grandchildren. One of them seems to have pinkeye. And I don't want to traipse all the way to the urgent care or the E.R. and I want to do this. So how how how does that work? How how you get in line, you've got the portal set up, you go on the portal and then what happens? 00;13;28;27 - 00;13;49;08 Candice Correct. So you get to the portal, you tell what your needs are. You say get in line. It will give you an estimated wait time first, depending on how many are in line already from there. But it kind of keeps you updated. Okay. We know you're here. You're not lost out there in computer land. We do know that you are here. 00;13;49;15 - 00;14;18;29 Candice So from there the provider gets a notification. Okay, there is a patient name to be seen for this issue. So you already know what what it's going to be for. Then the provider's able to access audio and video. The patient will be prompted prior to the provider joining to test out their software to make sure that they their audio video does work correctly so that the provider can see their eye and see what they need is an analogy. 00;14;18;29 - 00;14;25;21 Candice Is it bacterial pink eye? How to treat it? And then that way they get taken care of and from the comfort of home. 00;14;26;07 - 00;14;39;28 Cary So they could take care of the kid for home. Now you've got to you've got to go get the antibiotic can they just with the doctor be able to prescribe that of over the of the virtual care and then call the pharmacy. How does all that work? Connect the dots. 00;14;39;28 - 00;14;56;05 Candice So the way it works is that's why we ask for pharmacy information. And of course, the provider will confirm that and confirm current medications and allergies to make sure there's no interactions. And then we're able to electronically send the prescription from our location to wherever their pharmacy may be located. 00;14;56;22 - 00;15;18;26 Cary Okay. And then so what? So what if this is something that, you know, a general practitioner or a primary care doctor can't necessarily take care of and they need a specialist. Maybe it's an issue involving heart failure or their current patient and they're having issues. How do you connect them with a specialist for that specific issue, if that's something that needs to be done? 00;15;19;09 - 00;15;45;29 Candice So what we what we do currently and what we probably will continue to do is we evaluate every patient almost like a triage. And if it's a complex condition, we will direct them, depending how urgent it is. If it's something, for example, with heart failure, I can't breathe. I'm really struggling. Then to our local emergency rooms, or if it's during operating hours, we will call a specialist office. 00;15;45;29 - 00;16;07;11 Candice I've done that before to try to get them a same day or next day appointment to with their specialists. That's more appropriate. So we do have avenues as a whole. We like we said, we're trying to take care of the patient as a whole. We're kind of that middle man that's connecting them with their specialist and connecting the specialist with the patient as well. 00;16;07;20 - 00;16;22;07 Cary So you'll actually if the if they if it's not like urgent, urgent, you don't need to go to the to the emergency room. But they but they should go see have a follow up visit reference that particular issue. You'll actually make that appointment and get them into that doctor. 00;16;22;09 - 00;16;24;00 Candice Yes, I do that often. 00;16;24;05 - 00;16;38;21 Cary That's a pretty nice that's a pretty nice deal. Yes. So you're like a navigator at that point. Actually, the admin to see who they need to see and doing it every day. And then if they do need to go to the E.R., you coordinate that visit with the E.R. so the E.R. knows they're coming correct. 00;16;38;21 - 00;16;55;04 Candice In the we will often call the E.R. and let them know this is the patient. This is their concern. This is why we're concerned enough to send them to the emergency room so that and we talked to another provider at the emergency room so they know the patient's coming and have a heads up of what's going on with the patient before they get there. 00;16;55;17 - 00;17;13;07 Cary But if it's something like, you know, the patient's on a number of medications, maybe they're dealing with water retention or something along those lines. And it's just a matter of being able to talk to a special and say, well, you need to start taking your diuretic twice a day instead of once a day that then they don't have to go anywhere. 00;17;13;10 - 00;17;22;04 Cary Correct? Oh, they're able to do it right there from home. And you just saved them a trip to the doctor's office or the E.R., whatever the case may be, and basically solve the problem for them. 00;17;22;10 - 00;17;36;06 Candice Correct. And we we will. And if it's something like congestive heart failure that so specialized, we will get them in the right direction if it's not emergent and get them an appointment within the week with their specialist just to ensure that we're doing proper care. 00;17;36;28 - 00;17;49;20 Cary So so even if they do, you know, look, we're back to the diabetic issue again with or excuse me, there would be a follow up with the specialist just to make sure that whatever was recommended is what they really need to do. 00;17;49;21 - 00;18;06;08 Candice Correct. So in that circumstance, you know, there's labs that may need to be done. So they may need to go to their lab, but and then the specialist may opt to see them virtually as well. Or the specialist may say, I really want you to come into the clinic. So either way, we will have them to follow up with that specialist. 00;18;06;08 - 00;18;07;21 Candice And we will navigate that for them. 00;18;07;22 - 00;18;15;11 Cary And if they need the labs, you make the arrangements and you put the lab order in and then they they're able to get an appointment and go to the labs wherever they need to do it. 00;18;15;15 - 00;18;39;21 Candice Correct. So I am able to order the labs and then I also help the patient to know where the closest lab is to where they live. So if they live in, you know, closer to Sikeston, we have Sikeston, Missouri, or we have Charleston, Missouri. We have different locations throughout southeast Missouri. And where and as as when the lab is ordered, the patient doesn't necessarily have to make an appointment. 00;18;39;21 - 00;18;43;16 Candice Most of our labs are walk ins, so it's at the convenience of the patient. 00;18;43;18 - 00;19;20;17 Cary That works out pretty well. If you want to learn more about the system, you can go to the website, SFA, IMC, dot net back slash virtual OnDemand. We'll be right back after the break. You're listing to America's health care advocate broadcasting coast to coast across the U.S. Stay tuned. There's more to come. 00;19;23;16 - 00;19;41;21 Cary Welcome back. You're listening to America's Health Care. Good show. Broadcasting coast to coast, across the fruited plain here on the HIV radio Network. You can find out more about us by going to the website Health Radio Dot USA. My producer, Mr. Paul Farmer. And I'm your host, Carrie Hall, joining me in studio, Matt, Alaska and Candace Crowe. They are from Saint Francis Health Care System. 00;19;41;26 - 00;19;58;23 Cary And we are talking about virtual care. We're also going to talk a little bit about the wellness center and the services provided by Saint Francis health care system here in southeast Missouri. The website, if you want to go set up your MyChart portal and you're already got or you don't have it. If you don't have it, you want to do it. 00;19;59;00 - 00;20;18;00 Cary The website self emceed dot net backslash virtual on demand. So you can do this and five minute wait time, it's pretty good. So I'm going to keep doing that and beat the daylights out of driving, you know, 15, 20 miles to get to an urgent care or coming all the way into an air. It's a little different deal. 00;20;18;11 - 00;20;35;10 Cary So let's let's talk a little bit about the range. Okay. You know, I like to say because I've got it said six grandchildren from babies to those of us that are seasoned citizens. So what do you consider the range typically for people to access the virtual care and how it works for them? 00;20;35;11 - 00;20;49;00 Candice So the same with our in-person urgent cares. Our age begins at three months, so we'll see a three month old all the way to 110 years old or older. If you are, we will see you. So we start at three month old. 00;20;49;12 - 00;21;14;27 Cary All the way to 110. You heard that. So she's being optimistic because she's looking at me. I recognize that fact. So that's important because, you know, we just had my daughter, one of my daughters just had twins. And they're two months old now. They'll be three months old here very shortly. So instead of having to go to the urgent care of the doctor's office when they've had a problem, she would be able to use virtual care if she were here in southeast Missouri. 00;21;15;01 - 00;21;32;05 Candice Correct. And we would evaluate from there. And, of course, if it's a baby that small and they're having respiratory difficulties, things like that, they may have to go to an in-person clinic where we would direct them where to go, but for minor problems, rash things of that nature, we would be able to treat them from the comfort of home. 00;21;32;05 - 00;21;33;19 Candice And you wouldn't have to get your twins out. 00;21;33;25 - 00;21;38;23 Cary Yeah. And you can put them in the car seats. Yes, but yeah, it's a process. 00;21;38;23 - 00;21;39;08 Candice I'm sure. 00;21;39;14 - 00;22;05;25 Cary It's definitely a process. So so Matt, let's talk a little bit about we're here obviously in southeast Missouri and Saint Francis health care system is throughout southeast Missouri. But what if you're in Carbondale or Cairo or Mary and you're in the Saint Francis health care system, you've got a doctor here, you're part of this system. And you want to do this in in in Cairo or, as I said, Carbondale or Merriam or Cartersville, whatever the case may be. 00;22;06;01 - 00;22;34;07 Matt Right. So we gladly invite those patients to log into their mychart, get the visit started, and depending on where they're coming from and what fires that we have working, you know, there are certain restrictions based on licensure requirements. But if if we're able to take care, then we will absolutely do so. If there's any issues on our end, we will reach out to the patient and let them know what's going on from our side and why or why not. 00;22;34;14 - 00;22;35;23 Matt Can we help them out? 00;22;36;06 - 00;22;54;08 Cary So so is what would you say to people, you know, especially, you know, those of us that are chronologically challenged that don't necessarily access computers and as many younger folks do, if they're hesitant to do this, what would you say about trying virtual on demand? 00;22;54;22 - 00;23;13;13 Candice Yeah, I do this very often. I would say several times a day. Talk to people that say, I don't have a smartphone, have a phone, and I just encourage them. If you're able to talk to your grandchildren or family via video, face time, Google duo or something of that nature, then you would be able to do a virtual on demand visit. 00;23;13;13 - 00;23;30;05 Candice It's just as easy. It's just as convenient, and it's exactly the same. And a lot of people are very surprised once I do get connected of how easy it really is. So in there. And they inform us often, Oh, I'll be using this all the time. But yeah. 00;23;30;06 - 00;23;31;18 Cary Because it's so much easier. 00;23;31;20 - 00;23;56;21 Candice Yes, it really is. Especially when you have more mobility or, you know, some people, especially in rural southeast Missouri, one of the poorest areas of Missouri in general, that they don't have access to vehicles or things of that nature, but most of them do have phones. So it's just another way to get out there to those patients that typically we would not be able to see otherwise. 00;23;57;02 - 00;24;26;21 Cary You Yeah. And that's interesting that because you can't especially in rural communities and I don't care whether it's here whether you know, we're we're we're we're anywhere we are in the country. There are fewer and fewer services and a lot of these rural communities for medical. But this solves a lot of those problems. I mean, instead of having to drive 30 minutes to get to an urgent care in a yard and then sit there for an hour or longer in an air visit, you literally are able to get on your computer, get on your phone, have this visit. 00;24;27;07 - 00;24;33;02 Cary How much do you think that's going to change the metric and improve people's health? They're in rural communities now. 00;24;33;23 - 00;25;00;02 Matt I mean, I think this is going to be probably one of the best things that we can do for our population. You know, we we always talk about how can we get our patients to come to us? Well, if they don't have the transportation or the needs or if they can't take time off from work, whatever it may be, this is a way for us to reach out to our patients and bring our services to them wherever they may be, so they don't have to worry about coming to any of our locations across the state. 00;25;00;19 - 00;25;04;24 Cary Yeah, and it's interesting because with COVID, people just quit going. 00;25;05;12 - 00;25;05;17 Candice That. 00;25;05;29 - 00;25;24;10 Cary Day. I mean, they had they think you're type one diabetic, you're a type two diabetic, you need an A1, C X number of times a year. They just skipped it. How does this impact that kind of thing for people that are just maybe not even getting their primary care visit? Maybe they did everything, you know, at least get their labs done. 00;25;24;27 - 00;25;31;08 Cary You know, as you talk earlier, how does this impact all of that and getting people back into the system to take care of themselves? 00;25;31;18 - 00;25;52;27 Candice So that's really a big priority to us as well. You know, of course, there's virtual on demand for acute illnesses, but we also have our connecting wellness for the overall wellness of these patients are a big concern to us. So we do talk to people often and they admittedly say, I feel fine. So I didn't get what they want to see checked. 00;25;52;27 - 00;26;17;21 Candice We check it at 14%, which means average average blood sugar over 400 and every day. So we help them by at least restarting medications, getting those labs going, getting them connected with someone either in person or virtually. We do encourage them to see at least once a year their in-person provider just so someone can hear them. But a lot of these things can be done virtually now. 00;26;17;21 - 00;26;34;03 Candice So that's what we're finding as we are kind of backtracking, so to speak. These people were well controlled COVID hit. Now things are kind of spiraling and we kind of help bring them back in and get them back to a good place where they need to be met. 00;26;34;09 - 00;26;54;11 Cary You know, when you start talking about spiraling, then it spirals from, you know, type two diabetes to type one diabetes or or some other issues, the end results in heart failure or whatever the case may be. So this is important from the standpoint to be able to manage that care so it doesn't get worse. 00;26;54;11 - 00;27;12;10 Matt Yes, absolutely. And as Candace touched on earlier, one of our benefits is that not only do you get to speak with one of our providers, they have access to your chart. They can refer you to a specialist or refer you to another urgent care facility if need be. So you're not having to make all of those calls on your own. 00;27;12;19 - 00;27;17;24 Matt We're kind of making this a one stop shop, making it very convenient for our patients. 00;27;18;06 - 00;27;21;16 Cary Yeah. And that, again, you're like a navigator, Candace. 00;27;21;17 - 00;27;22;02 Candice Yeah, but. 00;27;22;11 - 00;27;30;27 Cary Instead of saying, Well, now you need to go contact so-and-so and I need to go contact this lab or the specialist. You're actually doing that for them? 00;27;31;11 - 00;27;43;21 Candice That's correct. And it's it's very much a passion of mine. I grew up in a small town. If you can't tell, I'm from further south in Cape Girardeau, but still in Missouri. And it's just a big passion of mine. I grew up in a town of 200 people, so. 00;27;44;07 - 00;27;45;06 Cary Definitely a small town. 00;27;45;11 - 00;28;06;27 Candice Probably my highest. It's a village, actually my highest, hardest clientele was getting my parents on board to do virtual visits because they're like, Oh, we can't do this, you know? So it's really a passion project as well for me is so many people that I know and love just don't access health care at all because they don't want to travel. 00;28;07;04 - 00;28;15;07 Candice So this is very exciting for me. I think it's going to pick up a lot more clientele and people that really need health care. 00;28;15;11 - 00;28;16;25 Cary So did you get your parents to do it? 00;28;16;26 - 00;28;17;16 Candice I did. 00;28;17;16 - 00;28;18;08 Cary And now? 00;28;18;11 - 00;28;21;26 Candice And now that's the only way that they want to do it. 00;28;23;04 - 00;28;40;25 Cary So I think that I think that's I think once people I know for us and we live in a you know, in an urban community, we live in overall Park, Kansas, and so we've got care. But instead of driving to the urgent care or know, God forbid, you have to go to the E.R. that's a two hour, three hour deal. 00;28;40;25 - 00;29;05;22 Cary If you can do this, you know, with, you know, on the virtual care, like I said, whether it's a grandchild with pinkeye or whatever the case may be, it it is a it is so much easier to do. And you're talking directly to the doctor or the nurse practitioner so they can see you. So they can see, you know, if their symptoms that are showing right, they're able to see that and then they're able to take action. 00;29;05;22 - 00;29;10;04 Cary And so it just it changes the whole dynamic, I think. Don't you think that's the case? 00;29;10;04 - 00;29;27;24 Candice I really do. And I think that people are coming for health care that typically what and like you said, if it's a three hour overall ordeal, if people aren't taking off work and they're not taking that time, so if we can make it a 15 minute visit for them, we are more apt to get them involved in on board. 00;29;27;24 - 00;29;30;23 Cary Yeah. If they do it once then they're going to come back just like you're. 00;29;31;04 - 00;29;33;02 Candice Just my mom, my step grandmother. Yeah. 00;29;33;28 - 00;29;54;03 Cary If she's listening to this, okay, now, she's like, Oh, no. All right, we're going to be right back after the break. You're listening to America's health care advocate. If you want information on the program. S.F. Emceed Darknet Backslash Virtual on demand f CMC dot net backslash virtual on demand. If you want to set up your chart there and be able to access this care. 00;29;54;04 - 00;30;25;03 Cary We'll be right back after the break. You're listening to America's health care advocate broadcasting here on the HI Radio Network, coast to coast across the USA. We've got more. Don't go anywhere. Welcome back. You're listening to America's health care advocates broadcasting coast to coast across USA. Our website Health Radio dot US podcast platforms. Maybe you're trying to get your mother to do this. 00;30;26;07 - 00;30;47;23 Cary Go to the website or go to the podcast platform SoundCloud. Tune in iTunes, spreaker, Apple Play. We're on all of them. Odyssey, we're on all of them. And the shows are up there. They're posted, they're labeled their names. So you'll know what what you're looking for and you can listen to the broadcast and share it with somebody else instead of your three Madawaska Candace Crowe. 00;30;47;23 - 00;31;08;02 Cary They are from Saint Francis Health Care System, and we're talking about virtual care, virtual on demand, the change of dynamic in this country. And there has been a huge change in the use of virtual on demand and they've changed legislation now. So doctors are able to do this across state lines. And it is it is a different kind of program than it used to be. 00;31;08;10 - 00;31;27;12 Cary It's a great way to access care and it's a great way for people to do it much more conveniently and take care of those health needs that they've been putting off or just not doing it at all. Let's change gears a little bit here, Candace. Let's talk a little bit about the Saint Francis Wellness Center, Saint Francis Health Plans Wellness Center. 00;31;27;17 - 00;31;31;03 Cary Talk about how that and how that's tied to Saint Francis health plans. 00;31;31;17 - 00;31;55;15 Candice So the wellness center is another aspect of virtual care, and we are focused mostly at this time on Medicare patients. So a lot of Medicare patients don't realize that once a year they get a medicare wellness visit, which is separate from their other visits, and it's more geared toward let's tie everything together, kind of like we talked about before. 00;31;55;25 - 00;32;19;24 Candice So what I would do is review that patient's chart, find all their specialists, whether they go to Saint Louis for this or Memphis for that, and also ask safety questions, make sure they're safe in their home. Shows are up to date on vaccines. So it's more looking at the overall wellness of the patient and okay, have you ever had a mammogram? 00;32;19;24 - 00;32;44;16 Candice Well, let's get you set up. Okay. You are on a cholesterol medicine. I see you haven't had a lipid panel in two years. Let's get that checked. Those are very common things that come up in. The patients tend to be very comfortable with asking me and the other two nurse practitioner that are doing just the wellness clinic. Hey, I feel like I snore too much. 00;32;44;16 - 00;32;51;16 Candice Can you help me get a sleep study? Things that they may feel like they don't have time to discuss with their primary care doctor. 00;32;51;16 - 00;32;53;18 Cary Or maybe they don't want to discuss or. 00;32;54;02 - 00;33;11;22 Candice Or they're just more comfortable talking to us in that moment because we try to make them feel, you know, like they're the only person in the room because they are. So we want them to be comfortable and to ask those difficult questions and not feel rushed. And I think it's going very well. 00;33;12;12 - 00;33;32;03 Cary That's interesting. The focus is on mostly on Medicare patients because I think a lot of folks that are, like I say, chronologically challenged, I'm 73. You know, they don't pay attention to this stuff in rural communities. I think those numbers spike. I think those numbers are significantly higher. What is that? 00;33;32;14 - 00;33;59;15 Candice I 100% agree. Like I said, growing up in rural communities, there's all these farmers that don't I don't need a doctor, you know, that kind of mindset or I'll they said my but I'll talk about my poor stepdad now oh my blood sugar is only 300, you know, things like that that just taken that little bit of extra time to say, okay, this is what the long term effects could be. 00;33;59;15 - 00;34;14;16 Candice Yes, your blood sugar is 300, but, you know, you could lose your vision. You could lose your function of your kidneys. Just take that extra time to explain the domino effect of the health conditions really is getting more people in these rural health areas on board. 00;34;15;01 - 00;34;33;05 Cary You know, that's really funny when you talk about that. They don't they don't know. Okay. You just mentioned two things. Their vision. There are a host of things that fall under that diabetes issue that if it progresses from heart failure to loss of vision, I mean, go down the list, right? 00;34;33;06 - 00;34;37;07 Candice So many things you could lose, you know, lose your legs. You could lose. 00;34;37;14 - 00;34;38;02 Cary Toes. 00;34;39;03 - 00;34;57;22 Candice Starts with toes, eventually legs. But there's so many things that sugars like glass in your veins. That's kind of how I explain it to people and it makes sense. And that's a very big goal for us, is to make health care make sense to this population and eventually all populations. 00;34;58;22 - 00;35;20;07 Cary You know, and you mentioned men and not just from men in general, typically don't want to access health care and don't do it unless they're actually forced to do it. One of the things they don't do is really bad and it's just happened to a friend of mine is they don't pay attention to their prostate situation and then that number gets off the page. 00;35;20;07 - 00;35;45;15 Cary This is a friend of mine. This just happened to him last week and now he finds out he's got cancer, but he wasn't getting this done on a regular basis. So in the case of the wellness center tied in to virtual care, when you ask that question, have you had a PSA test done, you're able to order that lab and get them into the lab and and and then see what that number is. 00;35;45;15 - 00;36;00;11 Cary If it comes in at eight or nine or ten or 11, then talk a little bit about that. Why is that important? Because in real communities, it's worse. Yes Okay. Because I'm not I'm not driving all the way in there to do this. I'm not. No. Okay. So talk a little bit about that. 00;36;00;12 - 00;36;20;16 Candice And I do agree it is worse somewhat. Men like those things like prostate exams, colonoscopy that can make a man shudder like, oh, my goodness. But so we can we ordered the labs all the time from our clinic. We direct them to a lab to have it done. So let's say it does come back as well. Well, that would be me calling that patient back. 00;36;21;05 - 00;36;39;20 Candice I also forward all labs directly to their primary care, if they have one, through our system. So my sometimes the primary care will reach out before I get a chance, but I will always reach out. I will make that referral to that specialist. So in that case, the urologist and I will get their appointment made for them. Okay. 00;36;39;28 - 00;36;43;07 Cary Wrap it up here. What do you do if they don't have primary care? 00;36;43;07 - 00;36;44;25 Candice We help them establish primary care. 00;36;44;25 - 00;36;57;23 Cary So you set that up for that you get. So then that guy that hasn't gone, you know, hasn't gone for like six or seven years and, boom. Now he's got a problem, doesn't doesn't have a primary care doctor. You also put that together for him. 00;36;57;26 - 00;37;03;20 Candice We get him one and we have availability. Same day primary care is in Somerset instances if needed. 00;37;03;21 - 00;37;08;11 Cary Yeah. Because you've got primary cares outside of Cape Girardeau. Talk to about that for a moment. 00;37;08;15 - 00;37;27;08 Candice So I'd say we have anywhere from Piedmont to Dexter to Sikeston and even further south into the Boot Hill, we have primary care providers all around southeast Missouri, so we kind of get a feel for what the patient's looking for in a primary care and make the appropriate appointment based on that. 00;37;27;08 - 00;37;46;26 Cary Wonderful. Thank you both for doing this today. Thank you for coming in on your day off. It was very nice to do it. Thanks, Matt, for doing this purging in here. I think we educated a lot of people and maybe we'll get more people signing up for this. The website, if you want to do that. Do you want a site of virtual care as FMC dot net that's less virtual on demand? 00;37;47;05 - 00;38;03;08 Cary And now, ladies and gentlemen, I leave you with this thought from Albert Einstein, the one who follows the crowd. We usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been. Remember, friends. It's a funny thing about life. You refuse to accept anything but the very best. 00;38;03;14 - 00;38;13;20 Cary You most often get it. Thank you for listening to America's health care advocate broadcasting coast to coast across the USA. Goodbye, America.