COVER STORY
The Ochsner O Bar provides technical help for healthcare.
The future of...
HEALTHCARE Mobile medicine, workplace wellness and concierge care quickly becoming the norm
A
gentleman walks up to the counter with his phone in his hand. His app isn’t working, or he isn’t working his app right. He chuckles, shaking his head, and hands his phone over to the technology expert who quickly identifies and clears up the problem, showing the man a few tips and tricks that ultimately opens his access to his own medical storyline. This scenario is not taking place at an Apple Genius Bar, although it could be. The expertise is just as technical. Instead, it is a scene at one of the Ochsner O Bars located throughout Louisiana to empower patients to use digital tools so they can focus on their health while living life on the go. “We wanted to create a Genius Bar for healthcare,” says Aimee Quirk, CEO of Ochsner Ventures. “We were the first in the nation to launch this concept in 2014. Now we have 10 locations all over the state plus labi.org
BY MARIAH HERNANDEZ a mobile O Bar unit. We make it easy, and open to the community.” Easy and accessible is the goal for the healthcare industry throughout Louisiana. With a healthcare system that has experienced a massive disruption in the wake
Kiosks are available for simple appointment check-ins.
of COVID-19, removing barriers to quality care, increasing access and reimagining healthcare delivery for the future have never been more important. “The rapid adoption of telehealth, virtual care and remote monitoring has catalyzed investment and innovation dedicated to improving these tools while expanding digital strategies into other areas of healthcare delivery and operations,” says Quirk. “In these past couple years, we have all had to innovate and rely on digital tools to access the health and wellness resources we need, and this is likely to continue. In addition, we will see more and more care delivered in the home enabled by digital tools—further use of artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to personalize care—and more tools to empower and engage patients in their own health.” Ochsner Health has long been focused
Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
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