A look inside a teleICU (US)

Donna Cusano

A look inside the Mercy SafeWatch Center, one of the largest teleICU units in the US, which oversees over 400 patients at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri and in a dozen hospitals in four states. This unit not only scans vital signs 24/7 but also operates remote cameras which can examine wounds. The Mercy system is also moving into telehealth: they recently won a $495,926 Federal grant to begin installing monitoring devices as well as “tele-home” converters (another one for the terminology books?) in 900 patients’ homes in small towns in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas–but not going to the teleICU but to doctor’s offices. (We wonder–who’s the provider? Readers?) Also a short piece on robots in use at BJC Health Care. Hat tip to Uzma Sharif, MD. Telemedicine connects big-city specialists and rural patients. STLToday.