FAQ

Why Telemedicine?

Telemedicine is the new field delivering healthcare. Telemedicine has provided a successful and alternative option to filling the gap for outpatient medicine. Similarly, Hospitalist Telemedicine addresses physican shortages in the hospital and provides a more productive model with access to experienced and skilled physicians with more efficient and faster results that will improve on length of stay and other hospital metrics.

How can Telemedicine improve a hospital's bottom line and increase retention of Hospitalist staff?

By having a hospitalist on duty during each assigned shift, hospitals are ensured that there is a provider always available to care for its patients, without the need for the provider to be physically present in the hospital. The hospital would have significantly less recruitment and retention issues, since each hospitalist provider can be located anywhere in the country, as long as proper internet/phone/fax access is provided and he/she can be reached at anytime for any medical issues. With direct access to patients medical record and being able to interface via a dedicated video platform, designed specifically for inpatient care, the Telehospitalist is as reachable as an onsite hospitalist and can peform the exact same functions. Given the ability to perform a physical exam via the video platform, already in use by Tele-stroke teams and Tele-ICU teams, the physical presence of a hospitalist onsite becomes largely unecessary. By having a Telehospitalist on staff, it is much easier for a hospital to recruit excellent physicians, since there would be no moving requirements and each physician can continue to live in their desired locations across the country. The cost of hiring a Telehospitalist would be lower than the cost of a hospitalist onsite.

What type of activities/actions can a Telehospitalist do remotely to provide proper inpatient care?

The Telehospitalist can perform the exact same functions of an onsite hospitalist. The Telehospitalist can round on patients, write notes, review labs/investigtions, write orders, call consults, bill, run rapid responses or codes via the video platform as lead, perform new admissions or consults, discharge patients, send electronic prescriptions to pharmacies; basically any type of work that a hospitalist would otherwise do while in-house.

Why would a hospital choose Elite Telemedicine vs. an in-house Hospitalist?

• Cost Saving.
• Access. The Telehospitalist is immediately reachable as opposed to the in-house provider where there is a delay period such as with the use of a pager.
• Retention. The ability to recruit and retain is much easier. One of the prinicpal reasons for provider-turnover within any hospitalist group is the choice of location where the provider wishes to reside. With the Telehospitalist model this would be easily resolved.
• Experience. Availablity of experienced physicians on staff will provide higher quality and efficiency of care. We work with physicians who have proven themselves and have earned the respect of their colleagues.
• Speed. The Telehospitalist can be acessed as quickly as it would be to access a physican traditionally by phone. The Telehospitalist can deliver far more rapidly and be ready to provide immediate care.