Chapel Hill-based University of North Carolina Health Care has signed a partnership agreement with Mercy Virtual, St. Louis-based Mercy Health's virtual healthcare program.
The Mercy Virtual Care Center, which opened last year, operates 24 hours a day and is staffed with more than 300 clinicians who deliver virtual care services to 600,000 patients across six states per year. Mercy has been providing telemedicine services and expertise over the last decade.
Under the partnership, Mercy will virtually monitor patients in 28 intensive care unit beds for one of UNCHC's hospitals. The partnership will expand over time to include additional facilities and programs.
"This isn't just about purchasing telemedicine services; we have been practicing telemedicine for several years," said Alan Stiles, MD, UNCHC's senior vice president of network development and strategic affiliation. "We were looking for a way to accelerate the development of a broader array of virtual services for our patients and medical staff. Working in tandem with Mercy Virtual, we believe we can transform healthcare."