September 6, 2007 - Advanced ICU Care, a medical service company that connects critical care physicians (intensivists) to hospital ICU patients using telemedicine technology, said it has expanded its intensivist coverage to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to increase the continuity of intensivist care.
“This is great news for our patients,” said Larry Hegland, M.D., chief medical officer of St. Clare’s Hospital. “There are simply not enough intensivists in the U.S. to provide 24/7 coverage in every hospital, but Advanced ICU Care’s program allows us to provide this level of care to our patients.”
Advanced ICU Care intensivists, located at the company’s eICU Operations Center in St. Louis, MO, utilize eICU technology. It combines clinical management software with patient data and video capabilities to provide around-the-clock care and monitoring for ICU patients. The company’s intensivist coverage level represents a significant departure from some of the other eICU programs where intensivists are typically on staff 12-19 hours out of each day, with additional coverage by nurses, physician assistants and nurse practitioners.
The 24/7 coverage will allow for eICU intensivists to immediately address deteriorating patients and respond to urgent issues at anytime. Around-the-clock staffing will also augment communications between eICU intensivists and attending physicians and hospital clinical staff, allowing for direct conversations during the morning hours when attending physicians make their rounds or when shift changes occur.
This enhancement to intensivist coverage is being made as Advanced ICU Care grows its intensivist staffing capabilities. The company, which launched its first two hospital clients in January 2006, has grown its medical staff 80 percent in the last year, while adding multiple client hospitals.
For more information: www.icumedicine.com