Bryan Telemedicine Expands Services During COVID-19 to Help Patients Receive Safe, Virtual Care
Bryan Telemedicine has expanded its services during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide safe, virtual care for patients in a variety of medical specialties throughout the region.
“Telemedicine offers health care providers the opportunity to provide high quality care to the bedside while reducing the risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19,” said Dr. Brian Bossard, president, Bryan Telemedicine. “The use of telemedicine equipment also dramatically reduces the use of personal protective equipment, which was in short supply during the early days of the pandemic.”
Bryan Telemedicine is having a tremendous impact at Bryan Medical Center during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 50 telemedicine devices have been installed at both Bryan East Campus and Bryan West Campus. The technology is equipped with two-way audio/visual communication and a stethoscope, allowing providers to hear patient heart and lung sounds. The use of these devices helps reduce the risk of exposure for health care workers, use of personal protective equipment and provides an option for quarantined physicians to continue to deliver care. Since the beginning of April, over 500 telemedicine sessions have taken place at Bryan Medical Center.
Over 13,000 Screened for COVID-19 Risk
In addition, Bryan Health ezVisit was one of the first components of Bryan’s COVID-19 response. Bryan Health ezVisit is an online, virtual service that allows patients to receive care without going to a physician office. A screening tool was created and used by over 13,000 individuals to assess their risk of COVID-19. It also helped identify patients needing COVID-19 testing and allowed them to receive testing through the Bryan Drive-Thru Clinic.
Not only has Bryan Telemedicine made an impact in Lincoln, its reach has been felt throughout the entire state of Nebraska. Telemedicine services were rapidly installed at facilities in Beatrice, Columbus, Gothenburg, Hastings, Seward and Harlan, Iowa to meet the need for intensivist services, acute pulmonary services and expanded outpatient specialty services.
Finally, Bryan Telemedicine deployed over 100 virtual waiting rooms. This allows specialty and primary care providers to care for vulnerable patients in their own homes and avoid potential COVID-19 exposure for patients, staff and providers. Over 3,000 visits have been completed since the system began in mid-March.
Providing Health Care Safely and Quickly
“The rapid rollout of virtual waiting rooms allowed health care providers to quickly shift to a virtual environment for patient care,” said Andrew Whitney, director of virtual platforms, Bryan Telemedicine. “This solution allowed physician offices to protect providers and staff from potential exposure and allowed vulnerable patients to see their doctor from home where they were more safe from exposure risks.”
Through partnerships with health care organizations across the region, Bryan Telemedicine offers high quality care to patients while allowing them to stay in their community. There are over 30 telemedicine service lines available across eight states. Bryan Telemedicine offers services to patients in hospitals, outpatient clinics, physician clinics, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities and self-insured organizations. In addition, a variety of ancillary support programs are available for hospitals as well as comprehensive consulting services for larger hospitals and health systems. Bryan Telemedicine is recognized as a leader in the telemedicine industry.
For more information, visit bryanheath.org/telemedicine.
