Eagle Telemedicine Supports Partnership Model to Add Speed, Value and Greater Access to Resources for Hospital and Health System Telemedicine Initiatives

LOS ANGELES, May 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The benefits of telemedicine programs to rural hospitals are consistently demonstrated today, and a partnership model makes it easier for hospitals to implement them. Eagle Telemedicine, together with a health system and a technology vendor, is working to empower rural hospitals with a reliable inpatient telemedicine program. "Hospitals and health systems are often inclined to develop their telemedicine programs in house," said Richard Sanders, Vice President of Eagle Telemedicine. "A partnership program like this can work collaboratively to help fill in the gaps, speed implementation and ensure success."

The partnership will be featured as part of a presentation at the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) 20^th Annual Meeting & Trade Show in Los Angeles. "We will discuss our experience meeting the opportunities and challenges in setting up an eHospitalist program for rural hospitals," said Sanders. "We are delighted to be presenting the details of our program at ATA."

The panel discussion, "Understanding the Key Factors to Implementing an eHospitalist Service Line," is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, at the ATA meeting. Presenters along with Sanders will be Pam Forducey, Director of eHealth for INTEGRIS Health, Oklahoma's largest health system with hospitals, and rehab centers, clinics and other facilities across the state, and Tim Hulen, Regional Sales Manager with InTouch Health, a California-based provider of telehealth networks and services.

The movement towards hospitalists—physicians who work in hospitals rather than in private practice—to serve as specialists in the care of patients in community hospitals is reported to ease financial strains on rural primary care physicians, improve patient care and reduce the number of times patients have to be transferred to hospitals in larger cities to get the care they need.

"Unfortunately, small and rural community hospitals are often unable to afford and attract skilled hospitalists," said Sanders. "Now our program brings hospitalists in urban centers to rural hospitals through telemedicine, where the remote hospitalist can access medical records and diagnostic information to review patient histories, interact with patients using video conferencing technology, and communicate face-to-face with patients, local physicians and on-site healthcare teams to care for patients."

During the ATA presentation, members of the panel will guide attendees through the background of their path to partnership, describe functional responsibilities of each partner for an effective collaborative telemedicine service.

"Collaborative programs like this are ideal because they can provide access to resources—physicians and services and technology expertise—that individual hospitals and health systems may not have internally," Sanders said. "The programs can increase the volume of services that a health system can offer."

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, leading practical solutions, management tools and innovation through the use of telemedicine. Eagle currently offers telemedicine programs and solutions in: Hospitalist Medicine, Stroke and Acute Neurology, and Critical Care. The company was launched through Eagle Hospital Physicians, which develops and supports hospitalist physician practices serving hospitals in more than a dozen states. For more information, visit www.eagletelemedicine.com.

SOURCE Eagle Telemedicine

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