Investing in Technology to Improve the Member Experience

HELPcare Clinic provides unhurried, consistent, personal primary care through an affordable membership.

I've described the HELPcare Clinic experience we're creating as "Norman Rockwell meets the Jetsons."

We want to take advantage of technology when it makes sense.

When it helps us better serve members.

In too many companies, technology has become mainly a way to reduce costs, and humans have been cut out of the loop.

Just yesterday I was dealing with a large national bank, and I spent about 30 minutes trying to navigate its automated phone tree and still wasn't able to talk with a real person or get my issue resolved.

So as we introduce three new technology platforms to the HELPcare Clinic experience, I want to assure you that:

• HELPcare will never lose the personal touch.
• Technology will be a bridge, never a barrier.
• Your use of these electronic platforms is completely optional.

If you want your HELPcare Clinic experience to be 100% Norman Rockwell and 0% Jetsons, that's 100% fine with us. You don't have to install any apps or access online portals if you'd rather not.

But we think most members will appreciate these electronic tools that facilitate the human connections that are at the root of our mission: Restoring the Soul of Health Care.

Hint: Start and Manage your HELPcare Clinic membership

Hint is our new membership management and billing system. If you come into one of our offices or call to sign up in person, Hint is the software we use to enter your information.

But you also can use the HELPcare Clinic site on Hint to sign up directly, adding family members, entering your payment methods securely and generally managing your membership account. You can select a monthly membership, or semi-annual or annual plans that save you an extra 16%.

If you haven't joined HELPcare Clinic yet, sign up for Austin or Rochester membership on Hint.

Hint also will help us manage Corporate Membership programs, for employers who want to offer high-quality, affordable primary care to their employees.

If you're already a HELPcare Clinic member, you may manage your account here.

Or if you'd rather handle it all face-to-face or over the phone, that's fine too. 

Spruce: Communicate Securely with your HELPcare Clinic Provider and Team

Speaking of the phone, we're using another platform called Spruce to streamline communication with patients and also between providers and staff to deliver care to members. It has given us a new phone system which lets you more quickly connect with the nurse on duty or with administrative staff on scheduling or other issues. 

As a HELPcare Clinic member, when you create your Spruce account you can also communicate with your provider and the HELPcare Clinic team via secure text message, either on your desktop or laptop computer or using the Spruce app on your smartphone. Spruce also offers secure video conversations.

Again, it's not required for you to download and install the Spruce app on your smartphone. You'll still experience benefits from it as it streamlines communication among HELPcare Clinic providers and staff, enabling us to serve you better. But many members have already installed Spruce and found the secure messaging easy and convenient.

Elation:

The third new platform, which goes live later this month, is our electronic medical record called Elation. Dr. Strobel has used this in his previous work with the Pipe Trades clinic. It will have additional benefits, including an online patient portal called Passport that will enable you to access your records and lab test results online at any time.

As with Hint and Spruce, using Elation's Passport portal is optional for HELPcare Clinic members: it will supplement, not supplant, human conversations. We believe many members will appreciate this 24/7 direct access to their records.

Integration

That's not the name of yet another platform: it's how the other three work together.

When new members join HELPcare Clinic — whether in person, by phone or by signing up online — their Hint record will automatically create an electronic medical record in Elation as well as a file in Spruce.

For example, when providers and nurses use Spruce to securely communicate with patients, those conversations can be brought into their Elation medical records.

This makes proper documentation faster and easier for providers, freeing them to focus on patients instead of paperwork.

That's Restoring the Soul of Health Care.

Update (1/19/2023 - 11:23 a.m.) Lee Aase and Dr. Dave Strobel joined John Wright to discuss this on KAUS 1480 this morning.

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Lee Aase

Lee Aase is the founder of HELPcare LLC, which provides comprehensive membership, marketing and management services for provider-owned HELPcare Clinics, as well as metabolic health education and coaching for people interested in restoring health and reversing disease through lifestyle changes. Lee and his wife Lisa live in Austin, MN and have six married children and 18 grandchildren.