New York State’s Westchester Medical Center’s Health Network (WMCHealth) www.WMChealth.org is taking their eHealth program on the road. WMCHealth has added telemedicine capabilities to their mobile ICU ambulances and are now transporting critically ill patients across many miles for specialized care at the health network’s Valhalla campus.
WMCHealth’s new telemedicine program, the network’s two mobile ICU ambulances are now equipped with Wi-Fi and the latest HIPAA compliant audio visual communication platform. Care is now being provided to trauma, burn, neonatal, and pediatric critical care patients.
Clinical specialists at WMCHealth’s Westchester Medical Center and at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital www.westchestermedicalcenter.com/mfch are able to have video consultations while transporting critically ill and injured patients to the hospitals.
Tablets are used that are equipped with specially designed software and stabilized on secure mounts. WMCHealth’s advanced care on-call physicians located anywhere in the hospital, can see and speak with patients and ambulance personnel during transport.
This new mobile capability which is the first of its kind in the region, gives ambulance crews added support during the transport and helps receiving teams better prepare for and assist patients upon arrival.
WMCHealth’s mobile ICU program is part of a larger comprehensive telemedicine program launched in 2015 where WMCHealth invested more than $7 million to create a telecommunications hub staffed 24/7 with critical care physicians, nurses, and other health professionals. Today, 20 multi-media stations are equipped with the latest patient-monitoring technology and software.
Last year, WMCHealth expanded their eICU capabilities to the Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital www.midhudsonregional.org. The hospital’s 15-bed intensive care unit was then linked to WMCHealth’s eHealth Center. Similar technology recently expanded to network hospitals of HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley www.hahv.org.
In addition, WMCHealth now operates a successful e-Psychiatry program connecting patients at MidHudson Regional Hospital to clinical psychiatrists at their Behavioral Health Center, a member of WMCHealth which has significantly reduced the number of patients missing scheduled appointments.