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FROM ZERO TO CAPACITY THE PIVOT TO TELEHEALTH In 2020, when the Clinic was forced to halt onsite patient visits due to Alameda County’s shelter-inplace mandate, patient care fell to zero. Clinic leadership accelerated the implementation of Kareo, a telehealth software solution, and slowly— by the end of the year—we were back operating at capacity. Implementation of the technology required significant staff training, but with an incredible collaborative effort, operations shifted and scaled to a fully virtual care model—at warp speed. The medical team embraced the change, and physicians switched to phone and video consultations. Leveraging new digital recordkeeping tools, doctors working remotely were able to access patient histories, order lab tests and prescribe medications electronically. 8
As onsite visits resumed, in a reduced capacity in accordance with health and safety guidelines, demand for virtual care remained high. In fact, we surpassed annual projections for telehealth visits and were able to care for patients far beyond the San Francisco Bay Area, including individuals in other parts of the U.S. and abroad. We will continue to expand our telehealth features including the patient portal for online scheduling, patient-staff communications and enhanced video conferencing.
