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“We’ve had incredible success so far,” says Bill Beninati, MD, an intensivist who helped lead the implementation of this technology. “We proactively monitor the vital signs and data of critically ill patients and connect with bedside caregivers through cameras and audio links in every room.
In the highly intense environment of an ICU, this extra layer of support can ease the pressure on our bedside doctors and nurses, while helping to improve outcomes for our sickest patients.”
Intermountain, like some other healthcare systems and hospitals across the country, implemented this innovative technology to address some formidable challenges, including:
“Intermountain’s TeleCritical Care Program is the largest program of its kind in Utah ICUs, providing an extra layer of support to our staff and our most critical patients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” says Intermountain’s chief medical officer, Brent Wallace, MD. “With 263 critical care beds across twelve facilities from southwest Utah to southern Idaho, the TeleCritical Care Program enhances Intermountain’s ability to provide access to quality care for our patients, regardless of where they are, at no additional cost to them.”
The implementation of TeleHealth technology does not replace the vital role of on-site caregivers. Instead, TeleCritical Care specialists work directly with the bedside medical team to determine the appropriate course of action for each patient, serve as real-time clinical decision support, ensure best practices and consistency of care, and provide a safety net for bedside staff and patients. Studies show that healthcare systems and hospitals that implement this supplemental care model experience shorter lengths of stay, decreased complications and lower mortality rates in ICU patients. Early statistics show Intermountain’s TeleCritical Care Program is improving medical outcomes in community hospitals, where they can now care for sicker patients, keeping them closer to their home and network of support instead of transferring them to larger hospitals.
TeleCritical Care has been implemented in ICUs at the following Intermountain hospitals: