Patients at Decatur, Texas-based Wise Health System now have access to remote care in various specialty areas, the Wise County Messenger reports.
To access remote services, a clinician brings a patient a telehealth cart, outfitted with video conferencing technology and digital stethoscopes. A remote physician is then able to use these capabilities to review a patient's symptoms.
The six specialty areas Wise Health System offers comprise remote neonatal intensive care unit, emergency room, stroke, psychiatry and bariatric care services. The health system also offers a school-based telemedicine program and a "TeleSpecialty" program.
"In Decatur we're using it because there's a time you need immediate access, and we have physicians that are not always on the floor or even in Decatur," Amy Hermes, telehealth manager at Wise Health System, told the Wise County Messenger.
"If there is a change in [a patient's] condition and they need a quick consult or they need a different specialist because something has changed, they can request a consult through telemedicine," she added.