April 4, 2025 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Beyond the Doctor’s Office – Improving Access through Virtual Care

telehealth imageCommuting, traffic, parking, and sitting in a waiting room can all be avoided with virtual healthcare, a convenient and innovative way of delivering care that many patients and clinicians are embracing. With telehealth, the ability to offer a broad scope of remote health care services, patients can easily access clinicians via phone visits, emails, online and through their smart phones.
Integrated video visits (IVVs), in particular, are becoming a popular alternative to the traditional in-person doctor’s visit. At Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles and its newest Santa Monica Medical Office on Tenth Street and Broadway, integrated video visits are allowing patients to access healthcare at their convenience.

More than 300 Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles patients have already experienced integrated video visits in a variety of medical areas, including Psychiatry, Orthopedics, Pediatrics and Physical Medicine.

Telehealth is about providing the right care, at the right time, in the right setting. “From the member standpoint it’s very convenient. It improves overall access to healthcare, allowing patients to schedule appointments when it’s convenient for them,” says James Parks, M.D. in Psychiatry at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles. He says it’s especially convenient for members who have unconventional work schedules or who can’t easily leave work to get to a doctor’s appointment. He says that one of his patients, a security guard, had difficulty getting an appointment around her work schedule. “Now she sees me on her smart phone during her lunch breaks,” Parks says.

Physical Medicine is another area that is conducive to telehealth offerings. Now patients can receive physical therapy programs prescribed by their physicians virtually, according to Gus Kalioundji M.D., a physician in Physical Medicine at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles.

He says telehealth benefits a wide range of patients – from young to old. One of his patients, a surfer in Santa Monica who needs physical therapy but would rather skip the commute to see the doctor, now gets his home physical therapy rehabilitation exercise regimen e-mailed to him. “Not only does this save him a commute, but this way he can replay the exercises many times if he needs to,” Kalioundji says.

Virtual care also benefits clinicians. “It allows us to be more flexible in when we can offer care,” says Parks, adding that it also enables fewer delays, which increases his efficiency and ability to care for more patients. “It’s really on the cutting edge and it’s the right thing to offer our members.”

Kaiser Permanente is continually innovating and testing new services in video, mobile, and clinical settings to expand access to care for its members. For information on the the Santa Monica medical office and its telehealth offerings, visit www.kp.org/santamonica.

 

 

 

Related Posts

Suspect Arrested and Charged in March 27 Hit-and-Run Death

April 4, 2025

April 4, 2025

The Victim Was on the Way to His Job at the Beverly Hills Hotel  A 20-year-old man has been arrested...

LAPD to Conduct DUI Checkpoints and Saturation Patrols Across L.A. This Weekend

April 4, 2025

April 4, 2025

Checkpoints and Saturation Patrols Target High-Risk Areas, Come With High Penalties The Los Angeles Police Department will conduct a series...

Man Arrested After Violent Robbery During Camera Equipment Meetup

April 4, 2025

April 4, 2025

One Suspect Caught, Two Still Sought in Culver City Armed Robbery A suspect connected to a recent armed robbery involving...

(Video) Adorn Your Home With Plants and Pottery from Urban Jungle

April 4, 2025

April 4, 2025

Go To Urbanjungleplantsandpottery.com For More Info Go To https://t.co/WwF5r95s90 For More Info⁠ pic.twitter.com/Ejled24yhJ — Westside Today (@WestsideLAToday) April 4, 2025

Join UCLA’s Innovative Memory Research Study!

April 3, 2025

April 3, 2025

Are you ready to contribute to groundbreaking research and help shape the future of memory treatments? Do you sometimes find...

Coming Soon: Easter Extravaganza at Regent Santa Monica Beach

April 3, 2025

April 3, 2025

Book your Delectable Brunch, Easter Festivities This Easter, step into a world of celebration and refined delight at Regent Santa Monica Beach....

Scoop Dreams Come True: Van Leeuwen Launches New Beverly Hills Shop

April 3, 2025

April 3, 2025

Van Leeuwen’s Beverly Hills Opening Comes With Sweet Perks Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, a New York City-born brand celebrated for...

WeHo’s WeHappy Wednesdays Serve Up Big Discounts In Addition to Zero Parking Fees

April 3, 2025

April 3, 2025

Free Parking and $5 Cocktails? WeHo Makes Wednesdays Worth It The City of West Hollywood and the West Hollywood Chamber...

Saijo Hand Roll Rolls into Culver City with Premium Japanese Ingredients

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

Binchotan-Fired Perfection: Saijo Rolls Out Premium Sushi in West LA A new destination for hand rolls and Japanese culinary craftsmanship...

(Video) Check Out Bernie’s, a New Pop Up at Citizen Public Market in Culver City

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

Made with fresh frozen fruit and a toasted merengue topping these flavors are irresistible. The pop up will be at...

From Cocktails to Coffee: U.S. Tariffs Threaten Imports, Jobs, and Your Grocery Bill

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

Major Price Hikes Expected for Coffee, Wine, Chocolate, and Butter  A sweeping new set of tariffs announced by former President...

Levain Bakery to Open Venice Location with Special Guests and Charitable Twist

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

Bigger Than a Cookie: Levain’s Venice Opening Is a Flavorful Fundraiser Levain Bakery, the cult-favorite cookie destination founded in New...

LAX Airport Server Finds Hate-Filled Message From Unidentified Diners

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

Waiter Says He Was Stunned by the Message Left by Customers Guillermo Ortiz, who works at Planet Hollywood inside the...

Sunset Strip Staple Le Petit Four Shuts Down After Landlord Pulls the Plug

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

End of an Era: Le Petit Four Forced to Close in West Hollywood In a stunning reversal to the upbeat...

Metro LA Pushes Back Sepulveda Transit Community Meetings

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

Environmental Review Delay Prompts Metro to Reschedule  Metro announced that community meetings scheduled for early April to discuss the Sepulveda...