When I started Heme On Call, the country’s first telemedicine-based hematology practice, I sought to reform the way expert hematology advice was provided: online, from the comfort and safety of your home. Since 2020 we have grown to 50 staff, and we have seen 7,000 patients.
Over time, I have realized that the most important hematology mission is to identify and treat all women who have iron deficiency. Heme On Call has revolutionized hematology by creating the country’s first and only dedicated iron infusion centers. Nobody has ever done this before!
Why did we do it? This service has been desperately needed for decades because 25% of all women with menstrual periods have very low iron, causing them to be fatigued and less productive. In addition, 25% of all pregnant women develop very low iron, causing them to be exhausted and leading to cognitive impairment in their babies. It’s unbelievable to me that this problem has been ignored for so long.
The idea of providing iron infusions to all women who need them came to me during my 20 years of medical practice, seeing thousands of women with very low iron. During the past ten years, iron infusions have become safer and easier because newer iron treatments have been approved. Most recently, the broad acceptance of telemedicine has enabled us to provide hematology consults online to women anywhere, from the comfort of their homes.
I have always wanted to make an impact in others’ lives. Now I’m proud to say that Heme On Call improves the lives of more than 100 women each week by infusing iron. We make women less tired, and we enable them to perform better at work and at home. We improve gender equality by solving the problem that affects 25% of all women with menstrual periods. Finally, we make babies healthier and smarter by providing iron infusions to their pregnant mothers.
Each day, when I speak to women who benefit from the iron infusions, I realize that I have created a service that makes an enormous impact. Women tell me how much better they feel, how much more energy they have, and how much more they can accomplish.
To broaden our impact, we plan to expand throughout Florida, to do iron research studies, and to implement our Working Women campaign to test and treat women who are tired at work. We offer free iron screening to all women ages 18-55, either in our center or in your workplace. Finally, we encourage adolescent girls who are tired or have heavy menstrual bleeding to get iron testing and come to us for iron infusions.
Fem Iron Infusion Center, by Heme On Call, is a telemedicine-based hematology practice focused on women’s health hematology and iron infusions. Call for a same-week hematology telemedicine appointment, 786-567-8310, or visit hemeoncall.com.
