{"id":54324,"date":"2023-02-28T16:06:14","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T15:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pharma-trend.com\/en\/los-angeles-countys-covid-19-test-to-treat-program-with-healthvana-successfully-reaches-underserved-populations-by-leveraging-technology\/"},"modified":"2023-02-28T16:06:14","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T15:06:14","slug":"los-angeles-countys-covid-19-test-to-treat-program-with-healthvana-successfully-reaches-underserved-populations-by-leveraging-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pharma-trend.com\/en\/los-angeles-countys-covid-19-test-to-treat-program-with-healthvana-successfully-reaches-underserved-populations-by-leveraging-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles County\u2019s Covid-19 Test-to-Treat Program With Healthvana Successfully Reaches Underserved Populations by Leveraging Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nNew case study published in NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine) Catalyst highlights how a 25,000+ person pilot delivered Paxlovid prescriptions to over 1,500 patients via telehealth in an average of 6 hours from the test result being viewed digitally. 90% of patients in the p<\/i>rogram lived in the highest-vulnerability zip codes.<\/i>\n<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Stanford University researchers, and Healthvana, a patient engagement technology platform, are published in the March 2023 issue of NEJM Catalyst – \u201cStreamlining Test-to-Treat: A Novel Care Delivery Model for Oral Antiviral Access to Close the Equity Divide in Los Angeles County.\u201d (Full study + key takeaways: https:\/\/catalyst.nejm.org\/doi\/full\/10.1056\/CAT.22.0328<\/a>)\n<\/p>\n

\nThe Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and Healthvana piloted an innovative treatment-dispensing model, cost-free to patients, to address inequitable access, complex care costs, and the time-sensitive nature of Covid-19 medication prescriptions. The intervention successfully combined confidential digital delivery of test results, antiviral education, and direct access to therapeutics within hours of a positive test result.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThanks to this innovative approach, people living in disproportionately impacted communities were able to access free services within hours after receiving a positive test. This helped people get well and undoubtedly kept people out of the hospitals and saved lives,\u201d said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. \u201cThe Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is committed to addressing racial and economic inequities by bridging service gaps and this program helped us improve access to life-saving services in the midst of a deadly pandemic. I want to thank our partners at Healthvana for providing timely information about our telehealth services to residents and workers living in under-resourced communities.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe study notes equitable public health solutions targeting underserved communities are unlikely to come from the same health care infrastructure that initially created them.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSuccessful public-private partnerships like this can be replicated by local, state, and federal leaders, with the goal of reimagining how to reach at-risk populations with more streamlined solutions that leverage technologies we all use every day,\u201d said Nirav R. Shah, MD, MPH, Senior Scholar, Clinical Excellence Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine.\n<\/p>\n

\nOne of the key takeaways from the publication was \u2018meeting people where they are\u2019 and coupling it with the rapid roll-out and real-time iteration. That\u2019s what will make the future of public health successful.\n<\/p>\n

\n“The largest county in the U.S. made getting Paxlovid as easy as ordering a pizza – bringing access to populations that have traditionally not been reached,” said Ramin Bastani, CEO of Healthvana. “Programs like these show the future of public health. A future where the power of technology is leveraged to reach people at the highest risk and that helps them navigate toward better health. A future where patient trust is earned – one positive interaction at a time. A future where focusing on at-risk and underserved populations is not only the right thing to do but also saves considerable money. In this case, one Covid-19 hospitalization costs about $500,000 in California (according to Becker\u2019s Hospital Review), while the cost of each intervention in this program was relatively minuscule. That’s a big win-win. Our team is grateful for the innovative leaders from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health that enabled the program and to the researchers at Stanford University.”\n<\/p>\n

\nP<\/span>rogram details: access to antivirals directly from a positive result, free telehealth services in over 60 languages<\/span><\/b>\n<\/p>\n