Is your organization thinking about starting a mobile clinic program and taking it on the road? Starting a mobile medical program is an exciting endeavor that gathers a team of medical professionals together to deliver healthcare services to people and communities that might not otherwise have access to it. With the assistance of mobile medical vans, it’s become much easier to take your medical services and create a mobile medical program wherever you’re located.
At AVAN Mobility, we focus on creating innovative vans that are accessible to everyone, ensuring client dignity, and making medical care available to all.
In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at what a mobile medical program is, its various benefits, and the steps to get started on one.
Mobile Medical Clinic – What is it?
To better understand how to get started on a mobile medical clinic program, it helps to know what mobile medical clinics are and who they benefit. Mobile medical clinics are also commonly referred to as mobile health clinics. Mobile health clinics are customized specialty vehicles that are modified with specific equipment and supplies that allow healthcare providers to transport and utilize their services in areas where healthcare isn’t as accessible. Examples of such areas include rural communities with limited medical facilities or remote areas lacking transportation infrastructure.
As medical needs change, healthcare must also strive to become more innovative. Mobile healthcare works for a number of scenarios, and, while starting and operating one might seem like a daunting task, it’s a vital part of modern healthcare infrastructure.
Mobile medical clinics allow many types of medical professionals to perform things like:
- Mental health care
- Dental care
- Urgent care
- Testing and screening
- Prenatal/postnatal care
Starting Your Mobile Medical Clinic Program
Before you begin your journey of starting a mobile medical clinic program, there are a couple of questions to keep in mind:
- What will you be using your mobile medical clinic for?
- What’s your overall vision for your mobile medical clinic program?
- What types of communities will your mobile medical clinic program be catering to?
In addition to these questions, there are also a couple of crucial steps to prepare for that will align you with better overall success with your mobile medical program.
1. Research Your Target Community and Competition
The first step in starting your mobile medical clinic program is connecting with and researching your target community. In this step, you need to conduct thorough research into communities that can benefit from mobile health clinic services. If you have an idea of a community in mind, start gathering information about that community.
Unique needs: Do research into the unique needs of the population you’ll be serving. Are they affected by certain health conditions? Do they have accessibility issues?
Housing: Look a little closer at the individual living situations of the people in the community you’re researching. Are they homeless? Do they have insurance? For a lot of members of a specific community, mobile medical clinics may potentially be the only method of receiving treatment. This is important in the research phase because it will impact who your mobile medical clinic caters to.
Service density: If there’s already another mobile clinic program that’s operating in the area you’re thinking about setting one up in, look for another area or community that doesn’t have one.
2. Choose the Right Mobile Clinic Team
After you’ve finished researching what communities your mobile clinic program will be catering to, you can begin building the right team that’ll help you fulfill your vision. When you’re choosing staff, ensure they have the same overall vision and mission statement as you. Your team members should also have a similar attitude toward the people your mobile clinic program will be serving.
Desirable qualities of mobile clinic team members include:
Compassion and empathy: Mobile clinic workers should genuinely care about the well-being of the individuals they serve. They should demonstrate empathy, understanding, and kindness towards patients, making them feel comfortable and supported.
Cultural sensitivity: Your mobile clinic team should be culturally sensitive and respectful of diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and practices. They should strive to provide healthcare that is inclusive and considerate of cultural differences.
Teamwork and collaboration: Mobile clinics often involve multidisciplinary teams. Workers should be able to collaborate with other healthcare professionals, community organizations, and volunteers to ensure coordinated care for patients.
Adaptability: Working in a mobile clinic often means encountering various environments and challenges. Workers should be adaptable and flexible, ready to adjust to different locations, limited resources, and unexpected circumstances.
3. Begin Marketing
Once you’ve researched your target community, selected your team members, and received your fully equipped mobile medical van, you’re now ready to create a marketing plan. Creating a strong marketing plan will make others in the area you’re interested in serving more aware that you’re going to be offering mobile medical services in that specific community.
Some helpful places to market your mobile clinic program are:
- Churches
- Hospitals
- Community centers
- Childcare centers
- School
If your target location services those from traditionally impoverished communities, be sure and incorporate information on financial and medical aid programs available in your area.
4. Research Laws and Regulations to Operate a Mobile Clinic
To run a mobile clinic, it’s important to know and follow the laws and rules. Each state has its own specific regulations that you must obey. Here are some important things to keep in mind:
State regulations: Before starting a mobile clinic program, you need to learn about the laws and regulations of the state where you want to work. These rules make sure that the healthcare services provided by mobile clinics are safe and of good quality.
Licenses and permits: Starting a mobile clinic requires the right licenses and permits depending on the state you’re in and the type of clinic you’re starting. This might include a medical or healthcare license, as well as permits for operating a mobile clinic. For more information on this, you can contact your state health department or other regulatory agencies to find out what exactly you need.
Meeting standards: Mobile clinics have to meet certain standards to ensure the safety and well-being of patients. These standards cover things like preventing infections, maintaining equipment, protecting privacy, and being ready for emergencies.
5. Choosing the Right Mobile Clinic Van
Picking the right mobile clinic van is super important for a successful mobile clinic program. There are several reasons why it matters.
Accessibility
A good mobile clinic van helps healthcare providers go where they’re needed most. It should be able to travel easily and handle different types of roads. This way, the clinic can bring healthcare services closer to people who can’t easily get to regular hospitals or clinics.
Space
The van should have enough space and a good setup to hold all the important medical equipment and supplies. It should also have a comfortable area for patients and healthcare professionals. This way, the clinic can work smoothly, and everyone can get the care they need in a safe and organized place.
Safety and Comfort
Everyone’s safety and comfort are really important. The van should be well-maintained and have things like good lighting, ventilation, and comfortable seating. This helps patients feel relaxed during their visit, and it helps healthcare providers do their job well.
Customizable
Every mobile clinic program is different. That’s why it’s important to choose a mobile clinic van that can be customized to fit the program’s needs. This might mean adding special medical equipment or changing the inside layout. When the van is made just for your program, it makes it easier to provide the right healthcare services efficiently.
Benefits of Setting Up a Mobile Clinic Program
There are a variety of benefits to setting up a mobile clinic program.
Reliable care: There are a lot of rural areas across the country, and some communities are hundreds of miles away from the nearest hospital. Setting up a mobile clinic program provides reliable care to populations that would otherwise not have access to the same level of care.
Versatility: When you mobilize your services in the medical industry, you have the possibility to help more people in need. A mobile medical clinic has a lot more flexibility and versatility to reach more people when you’re bringing the services to them instead of them coming to you.
Cost-effective: The costs of a mobile clinic program are much cheaper in comparison to building a permanent facility. On top of the costs of a facility, some of the other costs involved are:
- Staff
- Tools
- Supplies
A mobile clinic program is much more affordable while still ensuring community members receive the support and care they need.
Get Started on Setting Up Your Mobile Clinic Van With AVAN Mobility Today
If you’re well on your way to setting up a mobile clinic program and have reached the stage where you need a fully equipped mobile clinic van that will suit your needs, feel free to reach out to us at AVAN Mobility. Our vision is to lead the way in providing innovative vehicles that are accessible to all.
If you’re not at that stage yet, learn more about mobile clinic vans by reading through these articles:
- What is a Mobile Response Van?
- 5 advantages of Mobile Medical Units
- How Much Does a Mobile Medical Unit Cost in the U.S.?
FAQ
Q: How many different types of mobile clinic vans are there?
A: At AVAN Mobility, there are four different types of mobile medical vans you can choose from, each with its own set of benefits for different scenarios.
Q: How much can I expect to pay for a mobile clinic van?
A: For a mobile clinic van from AVAN Mobility, you can expect to pay anywhere between $125,000 to $225,000.
