Avera eCARE Services, a telemedicine program operated by Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Avera Health, has delivered a range of remote care services since its creation 25 years ago, the Marshall Independent reports.
Here are four things to know about the telemedicine network.
1. Avera eCARE Services uses video conferencing and remote monitoring technology to connect clinicians based at a "virtual health center" in Sioux Falls to 400-plus sites across 17 states. The network serves 13 percent of all critical access hospitals in the U.S.
2. Avera Health launched Avera eCARE Services in 1993 as a pilot program to expand the health system's specialty care services. Today, the telemedicine network comprises remote intensive care unit, emergency, pharmacy, senior care, correctional health, specialty clinic, behavioral health and school health services.
3. Since its launch 25 years ago, Avera eCARE Services has worked with more than 1.4 million patients and saved participating health systems an estimated $200 million in healthcare costs.
4. Deanna Larson, CEO of Avera eCARE Services, told the Marshall Independent, "Avera eCARE is transforming rural healthcare by delivering the right care at the right time, supporting local rural healthcare staff, improving quality of care, reducing healthcare costs and improving patient outcomes."