The Heart to Heart International point-of-care lab will lead to reductions in barriers for patients by reducing the need to make additional arrangements for transportation or pay extra fees for lab testing.The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Equal Access Birmingham is set to have a point-of-care lab installed courtesy of a grant awarded from Heart to Heart International.
This lab will aim to improve patient outcomes by implementing timely and accurate treatment protocols. HHI addresses the challenges of cost and transportation barriers by installing point-of-care laboratories in clinics allowing for quick, on-the-spot testing and results, enhancing diagnoses and patient outcomes.
Equal Access Birmingham is a free clinic run by medical students and staffed entirely by volunteers.
“We serve uninsured and underinsured patients in the Greater Birmingham community by providing basic primary care services,” said Natasha Mehra, M.D., clinic director of Equal Access Birmingham and assistant professor in the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine. “Our entire budget is procured from fundraising and donations.”
The EAB is an afterhours clinic, so patients must come back to have lab work completed on certain days of the week. Additionally, the clinic is located about four blocks from the UAB Medicine Kirklin Clinic where patients currently go for blood work, and the clinic covers the cost of labs.
“Equal Access Birmingham is incredibly grateful for this grant from Heart to Heart to install POC machines that will allow patients to have lab work completed on-site,” Mehra said. “This will lead to immediate adjustment in medication regimens while decreasing the number of trips patients have to make to the clinic and lab. It will make patient care more efficient and more manageable.”
The HHI point-of-care lab will lead to reductions in barriers for patients by reducing the need to make additional arrangements for transportation and prevent delays in care.
“The installation of this lab will more than likely lead to improved health outcomes for patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other chronic illnesses,” Mehra said.
To learn more about HHI’s Laboratory Program, visit Point of Care Laboratories - Support Heart to Heart International. For additional programs aimed at improving health access across the country as well as globally, please visit hearttoheart.org.