The HealthSpot station is an 8x5-foot, ADA-compliant mobile kiosk that lets patients access a network of board-certified physicians through interactive videoconferencing and medical devices, such as stethoscopes, scanners, and thermometers. From that information, the remote doctors can make diagnoses and prescribe advice and medicine.
“We’re bringing the doctor to the patient,” says Steve Cashman, CEO and Founder of Dublin, Ohio-based HealthSpot, which launched its first station at the Consumer Electronics Show last December.
As of mid-October, about a dozen HealthSpots were in use. Eight healthcare systems in Minnesota, Miami, San Diego, and Ohio—including the prestigious Cleveland Clinic—were making caregivers available. Customers can be treated for common health conditions—colds and flu, rashes and skin conditions, eye conditions, earaches, and seasonal allergies.
On November 10, pharmacy chain Rite Aid announced that it had entered into an agreement with HealthSpot to install stations at select Rite Aid locations in the Akron/Canton, Cleveland, and Dayton/Springfield markets in Ohio.
The HealthSpot station was designed by Cleveland-based architectural firm Nottingham Spirk. Bill Nottingham, a Principal, says the station had to be portable, but not so small as to feel claustrophobic. An arched ceiling gives the pod some breathing room
Ohio-based Commercial Vehicle Group, a manufacturer of truck cabs, makes the stations. The units are shipped in pieces and reassembled on site. HealthSpot is providing the units to client locations for a one-time implementation fee to cover the installation, plus a monthly maintenance and licensing fee. Cashman estimates the stations are profitable when they handle at least six patients a day.
Cashman says he plans to place another 100 HealthSpots into the market in early 2015. He says he envisions them being installed on college campuses, in retail malls, and in assisted living facilities.
Read about more innovations from BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report
Related Stories
Daylighting | Aug 18, 2022
Lisa Heschong on 'Thermal and Visual Delight in Architecture'
Lisa Heschong, FIES, discusses her books, "Thermal Delight in Architecture" and "Visual Delight in Architecture," with BD+C's Rob Cassidy.
| Aug 18, 2022
The Illinois Institute of Technology restores three Mies van der Rohe buildings
With Dirk Denison Architects and Gilbane Building Company, the Illinois Institute of Technology has recently completed a $70 million housing project that has restored three Ludwig Mies van der Rohe buildings.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 17, 2022
California strip mall goes multifamily residential
Tiny Tim Plaza started out as a gas station and a dozen or so stores. Now it’s a thriving mixed-use community, minus the gas station.
| Aug 17, 2022
Focusing on building envelope design and commissioning
Building envelope design is constantly evolving as new products and assemblies are developed.
| Aug 17, 2022
New York to deploy 30,000 window-sized electric heat pumps in city-owned apartments
New York officials recently announced the state and the city will invest $70 million to roll out 30,000 window-sized electric heat pumps in city-owned apartments.
| Aug 17, 2022
IBM’s former office buildings in Boca Raton turn into a modern tech campus
Built in 1968, the Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC), at 1.7 million square feet, is the largest office campus in Florida.
| Aug 16, 2022
DOE funds 18 projects developing tech to enable buildings to store carbon
The Department of Energy announced $39 million in awards for 18 projects that are developing technologies to transform buildings into net carbon storage structures.
| Aug 16, 2022
Multifamily holds strong – for now
All leading indicators show that the multifamily sector is shrugging off rising interest rates, inflationary pressures and other economic challenges, and will continue to be a torrid market for design and construction firms for at least the rest of 2022.
| Aug 16, 2022
Cedars-Sinai Urgent Care Clinic’s high design for urgent care
The new Cedars-Sinai Los Feliz Urgent Care Clinic in Los Angeles plays against type, offering a stylized design to what are typically mundane, utilitarian buildings.
| Aug 15, 2022
IF you build it, will they come? The problem of staff respite in healthcare facilities
Architects and designers have long argued for the value of respite spaces in healthcare facilities.