Detroit-based Park Medical Centers (PMC), a group of 10 primary care practices and part of statewide McLaren Health Care, is preparing to expand its recently launched telehealth pilot program that increases patients’ access to specialty medical care from within its clinics, largely located in Detroit.
As part of the pilot, Park Medical Center clinics began hosting and facilitating specialist appointments, connecting patients to McLaren specialists through the use of its telehealth platform.
By hosting these virtual appointments in Park Medical Center clinics, a location familiar and convenient to their patients, more people received the care they needed.
“Access to timely follow-up specialty care in the city has long been an issue for our patients, and this can have a real and adverse impact on their health,” says Dr. Laurie Sabin, assistant medical director of Park Medical Centers. “Many of our patients have been with us for decades, if not their entire lives, and they have shared with us the difficulties and anxieties they can have when being referred to a specialist. This is our way of acknowledging and eliminating barriers.”
A collaborative effort between Park Medical Centers, McLaren Medical Group, and McLaren Health Management Group, the pilot launched Feb. 14 at Park Medical Centers’ office on East Jefferson, initially offering psychiatry services — the greatest demand among its patients at the time.
McLaren Health Management Group facilitates the health system’s telehealth capabilities, which had mainly been used to provide primary care services to patients remotely or to supplement specialists in an inpatient hospital setting.
The Park Medical Centers initiative is designed to provide general specialist services in an outpatient setting as a path to increasing access to an elevated level of care. Patients are provided a dedicated room, and a clinician is present to assist in taking vital health stats, such as heart rate and blood pressure, which can be read in real time by the virtual McLaren provider.
If a patient’s condition requires in-person treatment, he or she is referred to a specialist at McLaren Macomb, the most conveniently located system hospital providing the level of care they need.
The pilot program experienced conclusive and positive results, with appointments booking quickly, the companies state. And with its swift success, the technology will expand to surrounding Park Medical Center clinics, and services will expand to include cardiology and neurology, with other specialties to be considered in the future.
“Barriers to care presents a great risk for all patients, and it is through innovative solutions like the one introduced at Park Medical Centers that make strides in providing equitable access to vital care services,” says Dr. Binesh Patel, president and CEO of the McLaren Medical Group. “By actively addressing their patients’ barriers, PMC is further ensuring patients get the care they need, and we are grateful to be in the position to support such a worthy initiative.”
Park Medical Centers was founded in Detroit more than 60 years ago and has been a provider of high-quality primary care within the city before expanding to surrounding communities. In November 2024, Park Medical Centers was acquired by McLaren, providing PMC access to a comprehensive list of specialty services and a dedicated staff of clinicians in which to develop the telehealth pilot program.
A complete list of Park Medical Centers locations can be viewed at parkmedicalcenters.com.
, a group of 10 primary care practices and part of statewide McLaren Health Care, is preparing to expand its recently launched telehealth pilot program that increases patients’ access to specialty medical care from within its clinics, largely located in Detroit.){kind=link}