Case Study: Telemedicine Adds Physician Resources and Supports Patient Retention

About the Hospital

Nash UNC Health Care, a 280-bed, acute care facility in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, serves a community of more than 60,000 residents in the eastern part of the state. The hospital was named one of the nation’s top hospitals by the Leapfrog Group, for its commitment to the highest standards of patient safety and quality of care. In continuing this high standard of service, the hospital was facing several operational stressors: physician shortages and burnout; revenue loss due to patient transfers, and insufficient 24×7 coverage in a few key specialties.

The Challenge

Nash UNC Health Care was seeing neurology patients being sent to higher levels of care due to insufficient specialty coverage. Compounding the problem was the decision by two older neurologists serving the community to scale back their workload and focus on their private practice. They tried to recruit replacements for the hospital and were unsuccessful. “We were left without neurology services literally overnight,” said Davis Greene, Vice President of Operations at Nash UNC Health Care.

The Solution

Hospital leadership conducted an extensive national search and chose Eagle Telemedicine. “We were pleased Eagle could tap right into the systems we already use,” said Greene. “The physicians don’t have to change anything they normally do,” he added. “With Eagle, we reduced patient transfers down to three or less each month,” said Greene. Response time is another plus. Patients can now have a neurology consult in an hour. “It’s much quicker than what we had experienced, waiting for doctors to leave their clinics and travel to us,” Greene said.

The TeleNeurology service went so well UNC Nash decided to add TeleID (Infectious Disease) to cover nights and weekends. It enables the on-site specialist “to have part of her life back,” said Greene. “She is very grateful for Eagle Telemedicine and can relax on weekends now.”

Benefits & Outcomes

What Our Clients Say

— Davis Greene, Vice President of Operations at Nash UNC Health Care

It enables the on-site specialist “to have part of her life back,” said Greene. “She is very grateful for Eagle Telemedicine and can relax on weekends now.”