In Command of the ICU

The Boston Globe
December 1, 2010

Monitoring the sickest hospital patients remotely from a command center staffed around the clock by intensive care specialists could save 350 lives and $122 million a year if every hospital in the state adopted the model, according to a report being released today by a Cambridge health care think tank.

The New England Healthcare Institute calls for a new way to deliver critical care based on its analysis of the state’s only “tele-ICU’’ system, in place at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester since 2007. Because most hospitals don’t have 24-hour coverage by specialists in intensive care, the report suggests that tele-ICUs are a way to improve care while addressing the shortage.

“We’re hoping that having good evidence that this is a way hospitals and health plans can save money while providing better care is going to be persuasive,’’ NEHI president Wendy Everett said.

Link to Full Article: http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2010/12/01/study_says_ic…