Northwell Health’s Forest Hills Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Hospital is pioneering the integration of telehealth in the management of burn injuries, implementing a service known as teleburn. This telemedicine initiative allows emergency doctors at the LIJ Forest Hills to consult with burn specialists at Staten Island University Hospital’s Regional Burn Center without geographical limitations. Teleburn aims to enhance the speed of care decisions and patient outcomes by providing immediate expert consultations.
Teleburn: A Leap in Remote Consultation and Assessment
The fundamental component of teleburn is its cutting-edge video teleconferencing technology. It allows physicians at remote emergency departments to interact virtually with burn specialists. “With this technology, we can have a quick evaluation by a physician who is miles away and who can help us make decisions about care and whether we need to transfer a patient to that site,” said Christopher Calandrella, DO, chair of emergency medicine at LIJ Forest Hills. This innovative tool permits remote burn specialists to access real-time patient data and maneuver the teleburn camera to closely assess the burn injury. It offers a detailed insight into the burn’s size, depth, and other crucial details necessary for immediate treatment decisions. As stated by Dr. Michael Cooper, director of the burn center, this technology aids in determining the different depths of burns, their extent, and appropriate treatments swiftly and efficiently.
Implementation and Future Expansion
LIJ Forest Hills is the trailblazer in the Northwell system, being the first to implement teleburn. Plans are underway to extend the service to Long Island Jewish Valley Stream and Long Island Medical Center in the following weeks. The integration of teleburn into these facilities will enhance their capacity to assess whether burn patients can be managed onsite or necessitate transportation to the Regional Burn Center.
The decision for patient transport depends on multiple factors including the size and depth of the burn, the presence of smoke inhalation injury, and the available resources at the initial treating hospital. Northwell’s system can facilitate the transfer of burn patients requiring specialized care via ambulance or helicopter, providing a lifeline to those in the New York City metropolitan area and beyond.
Northwell Health’s teleburn system has the potential to be more than a technological breakthrough, and could act as a lifesaving tool that tranforms the trajectory of burn patient care. This remote service provides an immediate lifeline to patients who might be miles away from a specialized burn unit, ensuring that they have access to comprehensive, high-quality care at a critical time. It’s a significant advancement that directly addresses the challenges of time and geographical limitations that often complicate emergency medical care. This real-time, remote evaluation and decision-making tool increases the efficiency of care delivery, which can be pivotal in a burn emergency where every second counts. The commitment shown by Northwell Health in integrating such a system signals an evolving approach to healthcare, one that leverages technology to break down barriers and deliver the best possible patient outcomes.
