LANSING, MI — The pandemic has radically altered the healthcare landscape, and Sparrow’s leading-edge medicine is a good example: Sparrow has exceeded 70,000 patient video visits since March 2020.
Since the first Sparrow video visit on March 27, 2020, tens of thousands of Mid-Michigan residents have seen their highly skilled primary care physician or Sparrow Medical Group specialist without having to leave their homes. The only requirement: an account on the MySparrow app.
“What it basically means is when you look at how care was delivered before March of 2020, the only way to receive care was to pick up a telephone, call an office, hope you could get in, schedule a visit, drive and try to find a parking spot, and sit in a waiting room. COVID changed all of that,” said Patrick Sustrich, Sparrow’s director of Retail Healthcare.
Sparrow currently has 369,916 patients registered on the MySparrow app. If these patients stood hand in hand, they would span across the width of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Video visits give them another option besides seeing their physician in person.
Patients have been highly satisfied with virtual or video visits, and providers like them because it improves access to healthcare for the community and allows them to see more patients.
There are two types of video visits: OnDemand, in which patients can see a Sparrow provider immediately for more urgent situations 24/7, or scheduled video visits with their provider. Sustrich calls them “another tool in our toolbox.”
Sparrow has been a national leader in COVID-19 patient care and testing, becoming one of the first hospitals in Michigan to offer tests for inpatients and using innovative processes to increase access and availability.
The front door for virtual health at Sparrow is through our MySparrow app at Sparrow.org/MySparrow.
