Advanced ICU Care and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) have launched a first-of-its-kind telemedicine partnership, creating a new model of providing ICU care to patients in South Carolina. This partnership with the nation’s largest tele-intensive care unit (ICU) provider was made possible in part by the state of South Carolina, which recently provided a $12 million grant to MUSC for telemedicine services, including tele-ICU services. This funding will support the adoption of tele-ICU care to community and rural hospitals, helping to change what’s possible for South Carolina’s critically ill patients.
“With a tele-ICU, patients have immediate contact with intensivists – board-certified, critical care physicians who have received specialized training in the care of ICU patients. For a patient in critical condition this access can be the difference between life and death. This partnership will allow us to deliver better care in our local communities in the most cost effective way,” says Pat Cawley, M.D., MUSC Executive Director/CEO and Vice President for Clinical Operations. “Partnering with Advanced ICU Care gives us a new way to improve our state’s health and we are grateful to the South Carolina legislature for their support of telemedicine.”
The public-private partnership aims to provide the same standard of care for hospitals across South Carolina that is available in leading national hospitals, such as MUSC, by providing access via telemedicine to intensivist physicians, including 24/7 monitoring for the nation’s most critical patients. The increased access to MUSC’s nationally recognized quality, innovation and expertise will reduce transfers and improve patient outcomes, enabling patients to stay close to home and keep their healthcare local.
“By working with MUSC, we are offering a new solution to the current ICU crisis seen in South Carolina and across the U.S.,” states Mary Jo Gorman, M.D., CEO of Advanced ICU Care. “With a tele-ICU, patients have increased access to best-in-class care which will reduce transfers and improve patient outcomes, enabling patients to stay close to home – and keeping healthcare local.”
Advanced ICU Care, the largest private provider of tele-ICU services, has a proven track record of reducing the number of patient transfers with its partner hospitals, which allows these hospitals to keep patients closer to their families and home. Programs based on the Advanced ICU Care model, on average, reduced mortality by 40%, increased patient growth by 17% and increased patient throughput by 25%, allowing hospitals to serve more patients without adding beds. Community hospitals maintain independence at the local level and stay connected to their local communities, with the support of remote, 24/7 patient monitoring and expertise. Advanced ICU Care and MUSC will begin offering tele-ICU services later this year.
Tele-medicine grant funding will be available later this year.