LTACH requirements for night coverage, pre-emptive rounding and specialists on demand make the facilities an ideal fit for virtual rounding using telemedicine services

ATLANTA—Feb. 2, 2017—Eagle Hospital Physicians, a physician-led hospitalist management firm and telemedicine provider for hospitals across the United States., is finding a growing new market in the nation’s long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs), whose unique needs for services like virtual rounding are a good fit for telemedicine.

“In medicine, there are always new frontiers—new viruses to conquer, new treatment approaches to manage, new technologies to incorporate in practice,” said Talbot “Mac” McCormick, M.D., president and CEO of the company, which began offering telemedicine services to regular acute care hospitals eight years ago. “At Eagle, we are finding the same holds true for telemedicine. New uses for it are emerging every day.”

During the eight years since it began its telemedicine initiative, Eagle has established programs providing TeleHospitalist services and a range of telemedicine specialties in acute care hospitals across the United States. It entered the LTACH market recently, and is currently providing telemedicine night coverage to three LTACH facilities in North Carolina: Select Specialty Hospitals in Durham, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem. The facilities are part of Select’s network of more than 100 long-term acute care sites across the United States.

Telemedicine and LTACHs: A natural fit

An estimated 10-20 percent of hospital patients with critical illness require prolonged medical care after acute care hospitalization. They might be on a ventilator or have other needs like ongoing dialysis or wound care that require more specialized physician care than a skilled nursing facility (SNF) provides.

LTACHs have grown significantly over the last 25 years in response to a growing patient population. Some are free-standing facilities; others occupy wings or sections of acute care hospitals.

“Unlike many SNF or palliative care patients, LTACH patients typically do have hope of recovery,” said Dr. McCormick. “They require a plan of care and physician attention to help them improve during their extended stay. This is the key element that makes LTACHs unique entities in the healthcare system, with requirements for focused involvement by specialists for extended periods. Because of this unique profile, LTACHs are an ideal environment for telemedicine coverage.”

Providing a range of needed services

Here are a few examples of how telemedicine is working for LTACHs.

Virtual Rounding Supports Nurses and Patients
  • Economies of scale. One telemedicine primary care physician or hospitalist can typically cover rounding requirements for five LTACHs with a total of 100 beds among them.
  • Specialists when needed. Depending on patient mix at an LTACH on any given day, telemedicine specialists in cardiology, nephrology, neurology and pulmonary care can be immediately
    available.
  • Night coverage. With a telemedicine team providing comprehensive coverage of night calls, code management and admission, an LTACH can let its physicians recharge and revitalize, knowing their patients are in good hands at night.
  • Pre-emptive rounding. Other than routine daily rounds, physicians are also needed at an LTACH to do pre-emptive rounding—that is, virtual rounding to spot any declines by patients to prevent a crash or a code blue. This is another task that telemedicine physicians can regularly perform.

Long-term Advantages of Telehealth for Infectious Disease

To handle these complex conditions, Eagle’s Tele-ID physicians can provide expert insight to your hospital’s care team. They work with on-site nurses, who help with patient exams. If wounds are involved, images are able to be sent instantly to the Tele-ID provider, as part of the patient’s medical record, in advance of the consult.
Tele-ID improves hospital care for the long-term

Rapid response is key

Through telemedicine, a physician can generally be interacting with a patient within two minutes of receiving a call or text message for assistance. This rapid response is another reason telemedicine is in demand today—among acute care hospitals and now in the LTACH market. “At Eagle, we are proud to be well positioned—with both the technology and the physician resources across many specialties—to meet this growing demand,” Dr. McCormick said.