Leidos is expanding its fleet of mobile medical clinics
Leidos mobile medical units treat patients in underserved rural areas. Photo: QTC Medical Services
QTC Medical Services, a Leidos subsidiary, is expanding its fleet of mobile medical clinics from eight to 12 in the next year as rural communities are losing access to local health services.
Why you should know: Rural hospitals, which treat roughly one in five Americans, are struggling to stay open.
- More than 180 rural hospitals have closed since 2005.
- Another 500 are at immediate risk of closing.
The challenge: Nearly three million military veterans in rural communities rely on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for healthcare services.
More than half of those veterans are 65 or over, making them more susceptible to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart conditions and other chronic issues that need medical attention.
Veterans must be examined to access their VA benefits for disability and or medical services, but many are unable to travel long distances to the nearest outpatient clinic or VA hospital for an exam.
- “The harder it is for a patient to access care, the less likely they are to try to obtain it," says QTC expert Sheree Cales. “We know the veteran community is experiencing a crisis with substance abuse, mental disorders, PTSD and other chronic disease conditions that will make their health deteriorate over time, so we need to make it easier for them to get help."
The solution: QTC was recently awarded two new contracts from the VA to expand disability examination services around the globe and maintain its 10-year contract in the United States.
QTC mobile clinics are equipped for a variety of exams including radiology, audiology, general medicine, vision, mental health and more.
Staffed by licensed medical providers, these mobile clinics assist to reduce wait times from roughly 100 days to two weeks in many underserved communities.
Notable: In 2020, Congress passed a bill that allows licensed clinicians to practice across state lines, increasing QTC’s rural capacity by more than 50%.
- "We're meeting a need, but the need is increasing," Cales said. "Our expanded fleet, combined with the new license portability act, will allow us to provide more support to the VA to serve veterans in need."
QTC completed roughly 24,000 remote exams for veterans in 2021 and has completed more than 14,000 exams through June 2022.
QTC plans for its four new mobile clinics to operate by next spring.
Please contact the Leidos media relations team for more information.
Related:
