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A recent study published in The Lancet revealed a stunning statistic: rural communities have almost half as many intensive care unit (ICU) beds as their urban counterparts. This shortage is further exacerbated by staffing challenges and lack of intensivist care, issues affecting both rural and urban hospitals of all sizes.
Patients deserve the best care possible, regardless of location—that’s the guiding principle of Florida-based company Intercept Telehealth. The tele-critical care company is on a mission to transform healthcare delivery and empower hospitals to enhance the quality of critical care through their unique telehealth solutions.
A Win-Win for Patients and Hospitals
Specialized care in the ICU is crucial to improving patient outcomes, reducing mortality rates and ensuring timely interventions for critically ill patients. No one knows this better than practicing transplant surgeon and Intercept’s founder, Dr. Diego Reino, MD.
Having witnessed firsthand the negative impact of inadequate bedside staffing and delayed access to patient data, Dr. Reino decided to tackle these challenges head-on. He founded Intercept Telehealth to ensure high-quality care for every community, aiming to enhance patient well-being and longevity.
“The biggest challenge we’re [addressing] is access to care,” said Dr. Reino. “The reality is that many intensive care units throughout the United States do not have board-certified intensivists. That means a lot of the care is being rendered by physicians who are either not trained or not qualified to deliver gold-standard level of care.”
ICUs without intensivists or specialized staff see an increase in adverse patient impacts like delayed diagnosis and treatment, longer hospital stays and higher readmission rates. This lack of specialized care also strains hospital operations, leading to higher costs, increased patient transfers, staff burnout and inefficient use of resources.
By providing access to gold-standard care locally, patients receive optimal care closer to their families and support systems, and hospitals get to keep patients in their community, avoiding delays in care, financial hardship and other risks associated with transferring patients to another facility.
Driving Clinical and Financial Outcomes
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine has been a major talking point in healthcare. It has become synonymous with convenience, allowing patients to see their doctor from home, reducing wait times and increasing access to care.
Dr. Reino stressed that, unlike general telemedicine, tele-critical care is not just about convenience, it’s about saving lives in real time. While Intercept primarily focuses on delivering care from a remote location to the ICU, they also support specialist care in other clinical services including tele-neurology, tele-stroke and tele-nursing.
“This is high, complex care. We pay a lot of time and attention to make sure that our clinical and hospital partners are meeting their organization’s clinical needs and optimizing financial ROI.”
Partnering with Intercept Telehealth means hospitals have 24/7 access to a virtual critical care team of highly experienced board-certified intensivists and critical care nurses across a wide array of high-demand specialties. Intercept’s tele-critical care solutions fill coverage gaps, helping bedside staff enhance care while improving hospital efficiencies and creating a better provider experience.
Partnering to Transform the Future of Healthcare
Every second counts in critical care. That’s why Intercept Telehealth provides specialized critical care expertise, round-the-clock support and predictive analytics to hospitals around the country. By seamlessly augmenting on-site care teams, they are saving lives.
“We’re impacting thousands of lives every day, truly,” said Dr. Reino. “That has been incredibly satisfying. What excites me now is to see our company grow and to be a formidable force in the telehealth space.”
At CQuence Health, we believe high-quality healthcare should know no boundaries. We empower visionary healthcare companies like Intercept Telehealth to improve healthcare access and outcomes. Through strategic guidance — lending business expertise and tailored support — we help our partners transform bold ideas into lasting impact for a better future.
To learn how Intercept Telehealth is breaking barriers in critical care, visit their website at www.intercepttelehealth.com.
