Access to healthcare is not the same for everyone For people living in rural and remote communities, accessing the right care can mean travelling long distances, taking time away from work or family, or navigating services that are not available locally. For healthcare providers, it can also mean working within capacity constraints while trying to meet the needs of communities that may be spread across large geographic areas. Mobile health models of care offer one way to address these challenges. The mobile health model of care is a scalable approach designed to improve access, strengthen health system capacity, and support more connected care delivery. By bringing targeted clinical services, screening, and health support into community settings, the model extends the reach of healthcare providers, strengthens local care pathways, and helps communities respond to the needs of the people they serve. A model designed around the care challenge Mobile health is not simply about putting healthcare services on wheels. The model starts with a question: How can we extend the reach of existing healthcare resources to communities where access is a challenge? The answer can look different depending on the community and the care challenge. It can take many forms, from clinics delivered by van or plane to temporary satellite clinics, and even drone-enabled delivery of medical supplies. What connects these approaches is the model behind them: bringing targeted care and health services closer to where people live, while making better use of existing healthcare providers and resources. Rather than creating an entirely separate care system, a mobile model can complement existing services and providers. It can bring targeted and specialized services into communities when and where they are needed, augmenting existing capacity and giving communities greater flexibility in how care is delivered. This approach can be particularly valuable in rural and smaller communities, where mobile services can complement local resources and provide access to additional services and expertise without requiring permanent infrastructure for every type of care. This flexibility makes mobile health particularly relevant in communities where geography, population size, workforce availability, or service capacity can create barriers to care. The specific services can also be adapted to the needs of each community, including clinical care, screening, pre-testing, health education, and other targeted supports. This makes the model transferable across different settings while allowing communities to determine what approach makes the most sense for them. The Mobile Health Clinic arriving in Consort, AB Putting the model into practice A Health Cities Initiative operated by ACESO, the Mobile Health Clinic is one example of how this model of care can work in communities across Alberta. Through a mobile clinic, healthcare services can be brought closer to where people live. Healthcare providers deliver targeted clinical care, screening, and health support while extending the reach of existing providers and strengthening community-based care. The model is designed to meet communities where they are, rather than requiring every patient to travel to where care is traditionally delivered. That difference can have a meaningful impact. A closer look On July 29, the Mobile Health Clinic travelled to Consort, Alberta, to provide screening services with Consort Medical Clinic, supported by Care2Talk and EndoDiagnosis. Patients who accessed care through the clinic shared feedback following their appointments, offering insight into their experience and the value of having these services available locally. Their responses illustrate the practical impact of bringing care closer to home and reducing barriers to accessing specialized services. “Not having to travel for specialized care saved so much time and hassle. Very grateful for local access.” For some patients, the impact was measured in hours. Some reported saving two to four hours of travel time, while others reported saving more than four hours by accessing care through the mobile health clinic. One patient reflected on the broader value of bringing services to rural communities, “I think having clinics like this are great, bringing more access to remote or rural areas.” These experiences illustrate one of the central opportunities of a mobile health model: reducing the distance between people and care. For patients, that can mean less time spent travelling and fewer practical barriers to accessing services. For communities, it creates another way to bring targeted care closer to the people who need it. Care team at work in the Mobile Health Clinic A scalable model The value of a mobile health model is not limited to what happens during a single clinic visit. Its potential lies in creating a flexible approach that can be adapted and applied in different communities. By leveraging existing healthcare expertise and bringing targeted services into community settings, mobile health can help extend provider capacity, support local services, and create additional options for delivering care. For communities, this can mean fewer barriers to accessing services. For providers, it can mean new ways to reach patients and use existing capacity. For the broader health system, it offers an opportunity to test and scale different approaches to care delivery without relying solely on traditional infrastructure. The Mobile Health Clinic demonstrates what this can look like in practice, but the clinic itself is only one part of the bigger picture. The model is about bringing care closer, extending the reach of providers, and designing flexible approaches that can respond to the realities of different communities. As Alberta continues to navigate pressures on access, capacity, workforce, and geography, scalable models like mobile health can help create more options for delivering the right care, in the right place, at the right time.