CLEVELAND April 6, 2021 – The COVID-19 pandemic increased demand for virtual medical appointments and, moving forward, telehealth will continue to hold a crucial role in patient care. In order to better serve patients through access and convenience, University Hospitals (UH) has chosen Visuwell as its new principal telehealth vendor. Visuwell, based in Nashville, Tenn., is a leader in enterprise virtual care delivery which enables health systems and provider groups to improve outcomes and decrease the total cost of care while meeting consumer demand.
The impact of telehealth became apparent during the extraordinary challenges and uncertainties of the pandemic. UH pivoted to meet the needs of patients, expanding telehealth visits from approximately 11,000 encounters in 2019 to more than 400,000 in 2020. This extreme increase in services called for a new solution to improve the virtual visit experience for both patients and caregivers.
As a secure, browser-based platform, Visuwell streamlines multiple aspects of telehealth visits, making the process easier and more efficient for everyone involved. Visuwell provides a complete patient experience, including HIPAA-compliant video conferencing, a virtual waiting room, screen sharing, and multi-party visits. It integrates with UH’s scheduling and electronic medical record systems, avoiding duplicate administrative efforts. In order to increase convenience, patients do not need to download an app or create an account. To join the telehealth appointment patients simply click on a link provided to them via text, email, or by phone.
“Telehealth is the future of medicine, but it also presents unique challenges,” said Stacy M. Porter, MBA, FACHE, vice president, Pediatrics, Women’s Health and Consumer Centric Strategy at University Hospitals. “Visuwell was evaluated and recommended by caregivers in departments across our health system. It provides key features and functionalities that meet UH’s standard of providing the highest quality care for patients.”
“UH is working hard to increase healthcare access without sacrificing convenience or quality of care,” said Visuwell chief executive officer, Sam Johnson. “At Visuwell, we partner with organizations to develop tailored virtual care strategies including telemedicine solutions to address healthcare’s biggest challenges, while providing them with a robust feature set and configurable options to help them successfully deliver virtual care for their patients. We are excited to work with an innovative organization like UH to expand their virtual care footprint and transform the telemedicine experience for providers and patients.”
UH plans to launch Visuwell with close to 100 providers in June with a goal of on-boarding all providers by early fall. The COVID-19 pandemic may have accelerated the adoption of this approach, but UH expects patients to enjoy the usefulness and convenience of virtual visits using Visuwell far into the future.
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About University Hospitals / Cleveland, Ohio Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 20 hospitals (including 5 joint ventures), more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and 200 physician offices in 16 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system’s flagship academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, located in Cleveland’s University Circle, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The main campus also includes University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; University Hospitals MacDonald Women’s Hospital, Ohio’s only hospital for women; University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, a high-volume national referral center for complex cardiovascular procedures; and University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, including cancer, pediatrics, women’s health, orthopedics, radiology, neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, digestive health, transplantation and urology. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including “America’s Best Hospitals” from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to Harrington Discovery Institute, part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development. UH is one of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio with 28,000 physicians and employees. Advancing the Science of Health and the Art of Compassion is UH’s vision for benefitting its patients into the future, and the organization’s unwavering mission is To Heal. To Teach. To Discover. Follow UH on LinkedIn, Facebook @UniversityHospitals and Twitter @UHhospitals. For more information, visit UHhospitals.org.
About Visuwell Visuwell is the leader in the delivery of innovative, affordable virtual care solutions. The Visuwell platform is easy-to-use, enterprise-ready, browser-deployed healthcare technology increasing quality care delivery for health systems, ambulatory care organizations and payers. Visuwell offers patients and providers a comprehensive telehealth experience for eConsults, eTriage, telemedicine visits, RPM, CCM, TCM, and remote observation over a wide variety of use cases and environments. Visuwell enables care organizations to utilize their own provider networks to offer accessible, high quality care. The Visuwell platform creates a tailored virtual experience accommodating 35+ use cases serving thousands of locations and helping millions of people to see healthcare differently. Learn more by visiting visuwell.io, and the company’s telemedicine resources page that includes guides, white papers, and case studies.
UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS MEDIA CONTACT:
Carly Belsterling
carly.belsterling@uhhospitals.org
412-889-8866
VISUWELL MEDIA CONTACT:
Sarah Stone
sarahs@visuwell.io
423-834-7310
