The Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic Health System’s campuses in Albert Lea and Austin, Minn. have partnered with public schools in Austin to offer telemedicine solutions to school staff and their dependents.
The program will make use of the Mayo Clinic Health Connection—a new telemedicine delivery system through the HealthSpot platform, which combines cloud-based software and a private walk-in kiosk that offer solutions to care for patients in their place of work.
According to Mayo officials, Mayo Clinic Health Connection will allow Austin Public School staff and their dependents to connect with Mayo providers through the kiosk that provides high-definition videoconferencing and interactive, digital medical devices. The kiosk enables Mayo Clinic Health System physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, to see and treat patients face-to-face in a variety of nontraditional healthcare settings.
Austin Public School staff and their dependents can simply walk up to the kiosk without scheduling an appointment and be treated for minor, common health conditions, such as cold, earaches, sore throat, sinus infections, upper respiratory infections, rashes and skin conditions, and eye conditions. “Mayo Clinic Health Connection will help school staff and their dependents avoid waiting for traditional healthcare appointments and time away from work, and still get the continuity of care you need from people you trust,” Mark Ciota, M.D., CEO at Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin, said in a statement. “This should decrease absenteeism, lower costs and increase wellness, a win-win for Austin Public schools and their employees.”
