SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Carena, Inc., a leading telemedicine provider, today announced the launch of its first virtual clinic for Spanish-speaking patients in partnership with UIeCare, an affiliate of University of Iowa Health Care in Iowa City, IA. This virtual clinic is designed to meet the needs of Iowa’s growing Latino population, and will expand access to care to more than 170,000 Spanish-speaking individuals.
“The launch of this new Spanish-language virtual clinic at UIeSalud.com is a significant milestone in improving access,” said Ralph C. Derrickson, CEO of Carena. “Like every other industry, healthcare has to adapt to the needs of the consumer. All healthcare is local and this is an example of how we’re partnering with innovative health systems to meet the needs of their patients.”
The new portal will connect Spanish-speaking patients with Spanish-speaking providers. If a Spanish-speaking provider is not available, an interpreter will join the virtual visit to translate the conversation for both patient and provider.
“When we decided to build out our virtual care capabilities with the launch of UIeCare.com, which provides unparalleled convenience and affordability to Iowa patients, we knew we needed to expand these services to reach Iowa’s large number of Spanish-speaking individuals,” said Dr. Patrick Brophy, Assistant Vice President of eHealth & Innovation at University of Iowa Health Care. “This new portal offers cost-effective access to care that our Latino patients can understand and feel comfortable using, giving them the same level of ease in their healthcare experiences that our non-Spanish speaking patients already feel when they use our services.”
This virtual clinic for Spanish-speaking patients is another avenue through which Carena is helping health systems broaden their offerings and expand options for consumers.
Carena’s virtual clinics extend health systems’ services and build their reputation with top quality virtual care from board-certified clinicians. This model provides visits via phone or the Internet that typically last 20 minutes. Common conditions treated include cold, pink eye, cold sore, rash, flu, sore throat, and urinary tract infection. When asked, 97 percent of patients reported they would use the service again.
About Carena
Carena partners with health systems to extend their services to more people through high-quality, cost-effective virtual clinics. System-branded virtual clinics allow patients to access 24/7 on-demand care by phone, tablet, or computer from local systems they know and trust. Our telemedicine solutions include everything from software to staffing and operations management as well as provider education through Carena University. Carena’s team of clinicians, technologists, and customer service specialists are dedicated to creating great patient experiences. Today, approximately 15 million people in 13 states have access to our partner-branded virtual clinics. For more information, please visit www.carenamd.com.