The $54 million hospital without any beds

[techbeck]

Instead, 330 staffers at Mercy's Virtual Care Center, located just outside of St. Louis, place video calls to patients using highly sensitive two-way cameras -- and monitor their vital signs in real time through tools like pulse oximeters that plug into an iPad.

 

The goal: Avoid expense and hassle on both sides by providing care when and where the patient needs it, preventing some of the hospital re-admissions that add $41.3 billion to hospital costs annually, according to a government study.

 

Under new federal guidelines, hospitals are partly responsible for keeping costs down. So they're turning to video chats, email and other online communications to keep patients out of the ER whenever possible.

 

"The sickest 5% of patients are typically responsible for about half of the health care spent and many end up, unnecessarily, back in the hospital," Gavin Helton, the medical director of Mercy Virtual Care, told CNNMoney. "We need an answer for those patients."

 

Mercy says the Virtual Care Center, launched in October 2015, is the first of its kind: a $54 million, four-story "hospital without beds" that houses zero patients. It's home to a variety of "telemedicine" programs that allow Mercy to care for patients remotely round-the-clock.

 

Caring for an 80-year-old stroke victim

 

A new Mercy Virtual pilot program is focused on remote care for patients in their homes. The initial pilot includes 250 patients with complex chronic illnesses.

 

One of those patients is Leroy Strubberg, 80, who suffers from cardiac issues and is recovering from three mini-strokes.

 

"When I was a kid, when you were sick the doctor came to your house," Strubberg told CNNMoney.

 

Times have changed, and Strubberg lives on a cattle farm in New Haven, Missouri, more than an hour away from Mercy St. Louis. So Mercy enrolled Strubberg in the in-home care program. He now talks with Mercy Virtual Care staffers, called "navigators," twice a week.

 

The navigators video-call Strubberg on his hospital-supplied iPad and ask the same questions they would during an in-office visit: How are you feeling? Have you been taking your medicine? What hurts? The navigators also direct Ruth Ann, Strubberg's wife of 59 years, to use equipment like a blood pressure cuff that connects to the iPad.

 

Strubberg credits the program with keeping him out of the hospital twice in the past few months.

 

More....

http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/12/technology/mercy-hospital-virtual-care/index.html

[PsYcHoKiLLa]

The NHS in the UK is trying to do this approach, it's dangerous, a physician should be physically available in case of emergencies, for a hospital in the US to try this kind of "remote medicine" is just not good enough, you pay for your healthcare, you certainly don't pay for your doctor to Skype you.

[techbeck]

2 minutes ago, PsYcHoKiLLa said:

The NHS in the UK is trying to do this approach, it's dangerous, a physician should be physically available in case of emergencies, for a hospital in the US to try this kind of "remote medicine" is just not good enough, you pay for your healthcare, you certainly don't pay for your doctor to Skype you.

Sure there are hospitals in the area with beds and a Dr to physically see.  But in the source link, the one guy lives 60 miles from help.  He may get the help he needs sooner than waiting for help to come 60 miles away.  And cheaper at that if he does not need to a physical visit.

[farmeunit]

18 minutes ago, PsYcHoKiLLa said:

The NHS in the UK is trying to do this approach, it's dangerous, a physician should be physically available in case of emergencies, for a hospital in the US to try this kind of "remote medicine" is just not good enough, you pay for your healthcare, you certainly don't pay for your doctor to Skype you.

There are doctors available if needed.  Use another hospital....  Not to mention that there are most likely other branches of the same hospital that can be visited in person.

 

It's not like physical locations are going away, but not everyone needs to actually see a doctor in person.  Also, followups and general checkups can be handled remotely without need for travel or wasted time.