Mission, Texas- As parents of Mission Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) work on their child’s online registration for the coming school year, they will have a new form included in the process. This new form could unlock healthcare services to their child that can help parents meet their child’s healthcare needs, and also save them some time.
Mission CISD is launching a new partnership with Virtual Care for Kids (VCFK) that will allow the district to bring pediatrician services to each campus nurses’ office via online telemedicine. The program is designed to provide student-patients the ability to connect via an on-demand video call with a Texas-based pediatrician director from the nurse’s office within minutes. It can provide immediate treatment to many common illnesses as well as onsite rapid testing for strep and flu. The program is being designed to meet the needs of all students, regardless of whether or not they are insured.
“We want to ensure every child in Mission CISD has the highest quality healthcare right at their fingertips and we are thrilled to make this a reality,” said Dr. Carol G. Perez, superintendent. “We’re excited to expand options for access to care for all of our students and families.”
Parents will have a new Online Telemedicine Program form as a part of online registration this year. This form is the key to unlocking the services to their children.
“We are excited to partner with Mission CISD to improve student’s access to healthcare by leveraging our virtual care technology and network of pediatricians,” said Kevin Pearce, president of Urgent Care for Kids. “Our mission is to deliver best-in-class patient experiences at a time and place when it matters most to families.”
Virtual Care for Kids provides patients the same high-quality pediatric care through a “facetime” style conversation minimizing the typical in-clinic wait times and eliminating the drive time to a clinic.
The online telemedicine visits will be automatically billed to the child’s insurance company. A telemedicine visit typically costs the same as a normal trip to their doctor. Texas Medicaid/CHIP plans shall be accepted and most visits for Medicaid/CHIP covered patients will cost $0.
The online telemedicine program will be piloted at a handful of Mission CISD schools this spring and then made available at all Mission CISD schools beginning this fall.