Glendale, Ariz.-based St. Joseph's Westgate Medical Center — part of San Francisco-based Dignity Health — introduced a telemedicine robot into its intensive care unit, The Glendale Star reports.
A remote physician who connects to a desktop or smartphone app can directly access a camera and monitor mounted on the telemedicine robot. The physician may use these functions to complete a face-to-face video consultation with a patient in the ICU.
The telemedicine robot is also equipped with a stethoscope, so a remote physician can conduct a patient examination including heart and lung assessments.
"Doctors are able to beam in from their smartphones, desktop computers and tablets to actually see the patients and families, and have meaningful, face-to-face conversations with them regardless of their physical location," said Tina Brucato-Day, hospital administrator at St. Joseph's Westgate Medical Center.