Express Care Can Help Offset Overcrowding at Stanford ED
Kirsti Weng, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Stanford Express Care at Hoover Pavilion
By Kirsti Weng, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Stanford Express Care at Hoover Pavilion
Two years ago, the Ambulatory Administration at SHC envisioned a new clinic to offer quick access for those seeking care at Stanford. I joined the medical staff to bring life to their plans and it is exciting to be a part of the innovative climate at Stanford. We are a new access point into Stanford Medicine and we pride ourselves on embracing C-I-CARE and partnering with patients to achieve their best health outcome.
The Stanford Express Care Clinic acts as a gateway for individuals with medical questions or acute symptoms. We are staffed with one physician and two advanced practice providers (a nurse practitioner or a physician's assistant) each day. Everyone on our staff is primary care trained in internal medicine or family medicine. We do minor procedures such as laceration repairs or joint injections as well as medical assessment and treatment. By collaborating with patients and their providers, we help to solve large and small health care issues.
We are an extension of primary care services at Stanford, and therefore, do not have emergency equipment in the clinic and are not staffed full time with an RN. We cannot offer infusion services or narcotic injections. Our stat lab orders have a two-hour turnaround time, so we use them for patients who can leave, but will be reliable to return to the ED if we call. We operate on the first floor of the newly renovated Hoover Pavilion. Patients have access to pharmacy, laboratory and plain film X-ray services. We appreciate the expertise of the Stanford specialist, and prepare our patients for the most effective specialty referral visit.
Innovation is in the blood of all those who work at Stanford and we are the same. Putting the patient at the center of care has inspired a number of our high-tech transformations. We have partnered with IT to offer new ways to access appointments and care. We offer on-line appointment scheduling, so patients can look us up in the middle of the night and make an appointment for the next morning. We also offer video visits. Using current technology on a mobile phone, laptop, tablet or desktop computer, clients can connect to us via the MyHealth patient portal. We will discuss their concerns, examine them remotely and send them instructions and any prescriptions electronically at the end of the visit. We occasionally need them to follow up with an in-clinic visit. If patients just need advice from a provider, we also offer telephone visits. When patients walk-in, we fit them in as soon as possible, but for more timely care, we offer same-day and next-day appointments.
The SHC vision for this clinic has been a success. Since opening our doors and seeing 15 patients on the first day, we now see approximately 1,500 patients per month. For appointments, patients can call 650-736-5211 or find us on the web at stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-clinics/express-care.html. Patients with a MyHealth account can make an appointment on-line. We see people of all ages, and are here to help Stanford patients, employees and the whole community. Express Care is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and on weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Consider Express Care an extension of your own practice. Share our number with your patients and encourage them to use us in urgent situations when your office is closed or booked with appointments. Together we can help provide appropriate care in the appropriate setting — leaving scarce ED resources available for more severe emergency cases.