Business View Magazine l November 2022

189 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 11 NIU HEALTH crucial gap in the broader healthcare system in Hawaii. “People end up going to the ER, which is costly, time-consuming, and largely unnecessary ninety percent of the time,” says Dr. T. “They do this mostly because they do not have insurance, or nobody wants to take their (Medicaid) insurance. So, they end up in the emergency room for simple coughs, colds, UTIs, and other things addressable in an urgent care setting or through an e-medicine consultation.” “For every hundred patients we see, only two or three require a visit to the ER, which can be a major drain for ERs when considering the high costs of operating an ER. NIU Health’s 24/7 availability online plus the physical clinics are helping offset that emergency room flow, which is not necessary, helping lower ER costs for ERs.” NIU Health is using various means to get the word out about its services, one of which is working with trade unions to help onboard members. “We are working with trade unions like carpenters, masons, electricians, and transportation because most of their members typically fall under the Medicaid bracket,” says Dr. T. “By working with them, we can help open a new healthcare frontier for their members, which can help solve access to healthcare.” As NIU Health pioneers a new frontier in healthcare service provision, it is keen on riding on advancing technologies to lower the cost of healthcare. “The biggest stop-gap in healthcare is cost,” says