New York City-based Brooklyn Hospital Center deployed a telemedicine command center with its Fort Greene facility March 19 to meet patient demands as the coronavirus spreads, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.
The command center is filled with computers for physicians to conduct electronic pre-screenings. Video conferencing is also available. During a five-minute phone call, patients will be screened for symptoms of COVID-19. After the call, the physician will direct patients to the appropriate care.
The decision to create the command center follows the opening of a pre-screening tent that was set up outside of the emergency room. The screening line outside the tent has wrapped around the entire facility, prompting concerns of socially distancing.
“This must be a major part of the system we use to prevent the overcrowding of the emergency rooms,” Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle about the telemedicine command center. “If we use antiquated methods to fight a modern crisis, we’re going to be left behind.”