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KEARNS — Utah doctors are implementing the "mobile medical clinic" and are saving Utahns thousands of dollars in medical expenses.
The mobile medical clinic arrived at Kearns Jr. High School to find a line of people already waiting to be treated.
"We like to say it's like going to the doctor in your own neighborhood," said executive director of Utah Partners for Health, Kurt Micka. "The whole healthcare system benefits. We think we save the state of Utah hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Micka said that the mobile medical clinic partnered with 19 clinics around the state, and they travel to two sites a week serving uninsured or under-insured Utahns. In 2012, the clinic treated over 12,000 patients.
Patients only pay $20 per visit, and the mobile medical program pays 68 percent of the total that the patient would typically be charged.
Micka said the mobile clinic has seen large amounts of success in treating patients in immigrant and refugee communities. Micka said they provide eye and dental care which are both health concerns for people that don't have insurance.
"I'll give them my glasses for them to put on, and their eyes light up because they are seeing for possibly the first time in their life," Micka said.
The mobile clinic also provides toothpaste and toothbrushes as well as hygiene education for the patients. They provide lab work, finger sticks, and diabetes testing. Prescriptions are given to patients with acute illnesses and chronic diseases, and Micka said that 10 of the 50 patients are usually advised to have follow up appointments.
