Calif. SNF partners for telemedicine services

Need a doc consult at night or over the holiday weekend? Grab the video camera.

Sierra Vista Healthcare Center, Fresno, California, is implementing a telemedicine platform that will allow staff to consult with physicians via a secure, high-definition video system 24/7. The center partnered with CEP America, a healthcare management and staffing owned and operated by physicians, to gain access to a national network of clinicians. The system is one of the first in the country to be developed specifically for long-term care settings.

Nurses can use the system to consult with a clinician if a resident's condition changes during the night, if a medication order needs to be changed, if a consult is needed on whether a resident chould go to the hospital, and many other circumstances. The clinician also can have a face-to-face conversation with a resident, examine a wound or oversee a clinical examination.

“Providing the best care possible in post-acute settings requires 24/7 access to experienced and committed physicians,” said Mehdi Hakimipour, MD, Medical Director at Sierra Vista, in the partnership announcement. “In today’s healthcare environment, where there is a shortage of physicians, that is becoming harder to do, especially overnight and on weekends. This new telemedicine service will enhance the existing tool kit for medical directors and more importantly, ensure our patients get timely, quality care.”

CEP America, Emeryville, California, has a 40-year footprint in acute care and is now branching out into long-term and post-acute care settings to integrate communications across care settings. The company also was one of the first to create a telepsychiatry program for emergency departments. 

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.