The Case for Mobile Healthcare
Mobile health programs provide a community-based, high-value, and sustainable solution. Mobile clinics care for thousands of underserved communities across the United States, fostering relationships and meeting people where they are. In this report, Mobile Healthcare Association and Harvard Medical School explore how mobile programs help healthcare organizations with two important goals – achieving health equity and managing costs.
Executive Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked innovation in healthcare delivery, including new and expanded use of mobile clinics. The pandemic has raised awareness about long-standing health disparities and the need for community-based solutions to advance health equity.
Mobile clinics improve health outcomes and reduce costs both to the healthcare system and to society at large. Questions remain, however, about the extent to which mobile clinics align with healthcare organizations’ overall priorities and financial incentives.
In this report, we explore how mobile clinics support the business objectives of healthcare organizations. By understanding how healthcare leaders view mobile health programs and their impact on the organization’s bottom line, mobile clinics can sustain or expand their efforts to deliver healthcare to underserved communities.
We conducted semi-structured key informant interviews with 25 healthcare leaders to explore their views and experiences related to mobile healthcare. We used thematic analysis to identify patterns and create a conceptual framework. An advisory group with expertise in mobile health, health management, and healthcare finance-informed data collection and analysis.
Healthcare leaders described multiple ways mobile clinics bolster the business objectives of healthcare organizations, including those related to organizational culture, business strategy, budget, and health equity. We present a conceptual framework that demonstrates how these factors, supported by community engagement and data, come together to form a business case for mobile health care.
We hope this report deepens your understanding of how mobile clinics can advance population and patient health goals while reconciling the business pressures that healthcare organizations face.