HASTINGS, Minn. 5/31/2018 — Regina Hospital, part of Allina Health, has launched a new telemedicine program as an addition to its robust hospitalist services. The partnership with Eagle telemedicine, based out of Atlanta, Georgia, includes board-certified internal medicine physicians licensed in Minnesota and fully credentialed as part of the hospital medical staff.
The telehospitalist program allows patients to see and talk with a remote hospitalist, a doctor who specializes in seeing patients in the hospital, through a real-time audio and video connection. This service gives immediate access to a specially trained hospitalist during overnight hours of 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. The service is very much like a regular physician visit, only the physician is “beamed in” via a rolling stand that is equipped with a digital stethoscope and other diagnostic equipment, as well as a videoconferencing monitor and camera, enabling physicians from remote locations to communicate directly, face-to-face, with patients and staff.
“This advanced technology is now at our fingertips and offers wide-ranging benefits for our patients and our medical teams,” said Michelle Radtke, RN, BSN, CCRN, MBA, manager of Patient Care for Regina Hospital. “The service increases access to physicians outside of regular business hours in order to provide our patients with the best and most timely care. The new telehospitalist model is also fully integrated into the patient’s hospital medical record and brings seamless care by collaborating with our own local doctors and multiple specialists throughout Allina Health.”
Allina Health is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of illness and enhancing the greater health of individuals, families and communities throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. A not-for-profit health care system, Allina Health cares for patients from beginning to end-of-life through its 90+ clinics, 10 hospitals / 13 campuses, 15 retail pharmacies, and many specialty care centers and specialty medical services, home care, and emergency medical transportation services.