Title
Calling upon the Philadelphia Public Health Department to form a Strategic Planning Committee for the purpose of increasing the use of telemedicine options in City health centers and remote healthcare provisions through co-location at public-owned facilities in Philadelphia and for the Strategic Planning Committee to publish a written plan for increasing alternative healthcare delivery methods as was recommended in the recent hearing on Resolution
130886.
Body
WHEREAS, The establishment of the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is listed in the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which calls for a team-based model of care that maximizes health options, preventive services, and communication; and
WHEREAS, Co-location and telemedicine are option-maximizing solutions to promote access to healthcare and to bring high-quality medicine to patients in need at an affordable cost; and
WHEREAS, Telemedicine provides services and access to healthcare specialists through video-consultations, as well as through the "store and forward" method, which allows primary care providers to capture photographs of the patient and forward them to specialists for diagnosis and treatment advice; and
WHEREAS, Co-location is a strategy that can house multiple health services in the same accessible physical place or locate one or more health services in underutilized community facilities, such as schools, recreation centers, PHA multi-family units or senior housing complexes, in order to promote and enhance healthcare options for people with mobility limitation and low-income residents of Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Publically owned buildings, such as schools and recreational centers can and should be used to their full potential by being transformed into co-located health services centers that offer convenient community access and affordable healthcare services; and
WHEREAS, Universities in the area, such as the University of Pennsylvani...
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