Jasper, Ga. (Jan. 14, 2019) — Faced with a growing shortage of physicians, rural hospitals nationwide are using telemedicine to ensure consistent physician coverage, and now Piedmont Mountainside Hospital is the latest facility to launch the innovative program.
“We are pleased to bring the benefits of telemedicine to our patients,” said Denise Ray, Chief Executive Officer of Piedmont Mountainside Hospital. “This new program will improve our ability to continue providing exceptional patient care. The team of telemedicine physicians we are working with are partners who collaborate with our own doctors and provide guidance and expertise to nurses and other clinical staff.”
How telemedicine works
In the new program, a cart on a rolling stand is equipped with a digital stethoscope and other diagnostic equipment, as well as a videoconferencing monitor and camera that enable physicians from remote locations to communicate directly, face to face, with patients and staff.
The cart can securely access a patient’s electronic medical record and lab results. Working behind the scenes is a cloud-based telehealth network that enables the connection between patient and physician, and a small team of telemedicine physicians specifically assigned to Piedmont Mountainside Hospital. In this way, the physicians get to know the staff at the hospital, and build the working partnership required for top-quality care.
Good for patients, good for doctors
The telemedicine physician can diagnose a patient who has come to the Emergency Department (ED) and quickly admit the patient to the hospital if necessary. This is a tremendous benefit when staff physicians are busy treating other patients, as well as in the middle of the night when patients ordinarily wait while on-call physicians make their way to the hospital.
Besides enhancing quality of care for patients, the program is also enhancing quality of life for the facility’s physicians and staff. Telemedicine reduces the number of nighttime visits daytime doctors must make to the hospital.
Partnership with a telemedicine pioneer
The telemedicine program is made possible through a partnership between Piedmont Mountainside Hospital and Eagle Telemedicine, an Atlanta-based provider that is a pioneer in the field.
"We are delighted to welcome Piedmont Mountainside Hospital to our telemedicine program,” said Talbot “Mac” McCormick, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Eagle Telemedicine. “We have devoted more than eight years to perfecting our telemedicine models of care, and we appreciate the enthusiasm with which our program has been adopted. It’s another proof point that telemedicine fills a vital need in healthcare today.”
Eagle Telemedicine also offers programs that can connect patients with specialists, such as TeleNeurologists who can diagnose and treat a stroke remotely via telemedicine technology. Other Eagle programs include Tele-Intensivist coverage in the ICU, and TeleCardiologists providing consults to determine whether cardiac patients can be treated onsite and retained in their local hospital.
At Piedmont Mountainside Hospital, the focus is on general inpatient care and admission. Leading the Eagle team is Jayne Lee, M.D., a seasoned hospitalist board-certified in Internal Medicine, who provides telemedicine services to hospitals across the United States through Eagle Telemedicine.
High marks from patients, families and hospital staff
Eagle’s program receives high marks from patients and their families. Elderly patients, who can sometimes be the most resistant to new technology, usually have no problem with the cart, and they appreciate the focus, quick responsiveness, and uninterrupted attention from the remote physicians. Doctors and other clinical staff like it, too.
“I was one of the biggest skeptics when I first starting hearing about telemedicine,” said Dr. Lee. “But I learned it can be amazing in what it can do and how it can help take care of folks. It can bring the highest level of specialized care to patients even in the smallest hospitals in the most remote locations in America.”
In addition to benefits for patients and their families, being able to keep patients in their hometown hospital offers significant benefits for the hospital and the community. It means maintaining a higher patient census, which goes a long way toward keeping the facility’s financial profile strong.
About Piedmont Mountainside Hospital
Piedmont Mountainside Hospital – a 52-bed hospital, located in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains – dedicates itself to delivering unsurpassed medical care to the residents of Pickens County and surrounding communities. We provide a range of services from cardiac rehabilitation and imaging to orthopedic services and cardiac catheterization. Piedmont Mountainside offers intensive care, 24-hour emergency services with 18 beds and a fast track area.
At Piedmont Mountainside, we take pride in providing outstanding care and our record of accomplishment speaks for itself. In the past few years, Piedmont Mountainside has consistently ranked in the top five Atlanta hospitals in patient experience as well as received top marks for our commitment to patient safety by Leapfrog four years in a row. Other awards received are the Press Ganey Partner of Choice Award, Best Place to Practice Award, 2011 Small Hospital of the Year, AJC’s 2016, 2017 Top Workplace, and the Women’s Choice Award for Best in Obstetrics and Best in Patient Safety.
About Eagle Telemedicine
Founded in 2008, Eagle Telemedicine was one of the first companies to emerge in the telemedicine physician service arena, and continues to serve as a pioneer in the industry today, offering practical solutions, management tools, and innovation through telemedicine. Eagle currently offers telemedicine programs and solutions in Hospitalist Medicine, Stroke and Acute Neurology, Critical Care, Cardiology, Nephrology, and other specialties. For more information, visit www.eagletelemedicine.com.