Announcing… WellNow Express!

We’re excited to introduce our new virtual care unit, “WellNow Express,” which will enable us to complete provider visits as if the provider was in the same exam room as the patient!

Here’s how WellNow Express works: Once the patient is ready to be seen, the telehealth provider will be notified via the unit’s virtual care queue. He or she will then call into the unit to speak directly with the patient over video. This unit will be staffed by an in-clinic RN who will remain in the room with the patient to guide the conversation and support the unit’s execution of the virtual exam.

The unit offers four medical devices that will enable the telehealth provider to virtually complete the patient examination. There is a digital stethoscope, which allows the provider to listen to the patient’s heartbeat and lungs/breathing, as well as an otoscope, iriscope, and dermascope to view the patient’s ears, eyes, and skin. (The unit does not provide occupational medicine or high acuity encounters that require an in-person provider.)

This technology will offer us an additional way to provide our patients with high-quality and convenient care, including in cases in which we have limited on-site provider staffing and in communities lacking access to provider care.

We launched our first WellNow Express on April 28 at our pilot location of Vestal, New York!

Stay tuned for future updates about this exciting new addition to WellNow!



Occ Med Update

T-SPOT Testing Now Available at All Locations

Team, please see these protocols for T-SPOT testing:

Ordering Supplies  

• All clinics that do not currently have access to kits will be sent an initial set of 25 kits. 
• Locations will be on a replenishment program that will replace supplies as they are used. 
• Locations also will have a Quest Diagnostics (Quest) email and telephone number they can use to place orders for large numbers of supplies.  

Ordering T-SPOT Testing for Patients

• All orders will be placed in Experity (DocuTAP). Staff will be trained to select “CLIENTBILL” when placing orders for Occ Med patients. This will initiate Quest to bill WellNow directly for services.  
• We will discontinue using any paper lab requisition forms going forward.  
• Please note: This is an alternative option for TB testing for employers and although we will strongly recommend making the transition to T-SPOT, we will not discontinue offering PPD skin tests to Occ Med employers who choose not to convert to T-SPOT. 

Logistics

• Locations with Quest UC accounts will have daily scheduled pickup for specimens. This will be achieved by using the existing Quest couriers.  
• Locations without Quest UC accounts (no current Quest couriers) will need to call 1.866.MYQUEST (1.866.697.8378) to schedule pickup daily. Once the location reaches a volume that justifies daily pickup, Quest will coordinate daily pickup with a local courier.  
• We will no longer be using FedEx to send specimens to the lab. 

Restrictions

• Collections should be performed Monday to Friday only. 
• Collections can be done up to one hour before your courier is scheduled to pick up that day. 
• Do not collect any specimens after your courier has picked up for the day. 

Resulting

• All results will flow directly into the interface with Experity (DocuTAP).

Training

• Training will be provided to all Clinic Leads, MSMs, and the Occ Med Training Team by the Quest representative in their area on how to order supplies, put in orders for services, and retrieve results. 
• Training dates will be available by May 9.

If you have any questions about this information, please contact Tim Birklin, VP, Occ Med Services, at timothy.birklin@wellnow.com.