Physicians at Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health's emergency department will now be able to connect to Salt Lake City-based Primary Children's Hospital trauma and pediatric ICU specialists via telehealth.
Intermoutain's emergency room physicians can connect with Primary Children's specialists for patient consultations whenever necessary, according to a July 9 press release. Primary Children's Hospital specialists will be available for consultation 24/7.
"We've found that about 80 percent of pediatric emergency, trauma and ICU patients who've been transferred to Primary Children's are discharged within 24 hours," Katrina Jensen, a pediatric nurse with Intermountain Healthcare said in the release. "During a six-month trial period of this new telehealth pediatric service, about half of those pediatric emergency patients are now able to safely stay in their local communities."
The aim of the expansion is to keep patients in their home communities while reducing transfers to other hospitals.