NewYork-Presbyterian, based in New York City, has launched the new Hauser Institute for Health Innovation with a specific focus on expanding telehealth services including remote patient monitoring and teleparamedics.
The new innovation institute is named in recognition of philanthropists Rita Hauser and Gustave Hauser, who have given more than $50 million to NewYork-Presbyterian in support of the hospital’s comprehensive telehealth services, according to the health system.
Gustave Hauser was the founding chairman and CEO of Warner Cable Communications and later established Hauser Communications. Rita Hauser, president of the Hauser Foundation, is an international lawyer and was a senior partner for more than 20 years at a major New York City law firm.
NewYork-Presbyterian is an 11-hospital system that experiences 2.6 million patient visits annually. The system employs 10,000-plus physicians and is equipped with 4,000-plus certified beds.
“With the Hausers’ extraordinary support, NewYork-Presbyterian is transforming the way health care is delivered, using technology to put patients’ needs first and expand access to our world-class care,” Steven Corwin, M.D., president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian, said in a statement.
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“NewYork-Presbyterian is using advanced technologies to fundamentally change the way that health care is provided, making it more convenient and accessible to all," Rita Hauser said in a statement.
NewYork-Presbyterian has been scaling up telehealth services and seen success with leveraging virtual care tools. The health system's Express Care telehealth program has helped to cut nonurgent emergency department wait times by nearly two hours, according to The Wall Street Journal. That program enables ER patients with minor injuries to see a doctor via video conferencing.
The health system also launched NYP OnDemand in July 2016 as a comprehensive suite of digital health services. The expansion of telehealth services was also the result of the philanthropic partnership with the Hausers. In collaboration with Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University Irving Medical Center, NYP OnDemand has grown to include more than 46 programs, and patients have received healthcare services during more than 230,000 visits.
NYP OnDemand services enable patients to connect with healthcare providers via the hospital’s website and mobile apps as well as self-service kiosks at some Walgreens and Duane Reade stores. The services include digital urgent care, where patients can access emergency medicine physicians through a live video chat; peer-to-peer consults between physicians; and digital second opinion, which enables patients to contact specialists via a portal with no need for in-person appointments.
The Hausers’ financial support also helped NewYork-Presbyterian to expand its fleet of mobile stroke treatment units with advanced telemedicine technology to allow neurologists from NewYork-Presbyterian’s hospital locations to be consulted remotely, according to the health system.
The Hauser Institute for Health Innovation will support innovation and research to benefit patients and bring thought leaders together to advance knowledge in the digital health field, according to NewYork-Presbyterian. A key focus will be expanding telemedicine services deeper into the communities NewYork-Presbyterian serves to provide high-quality, convenient and affordable care with an emphasis on preventive health and wellness, according to the health system.
The new innovation institute will support NYP OnDemand, remote patient monitoring, which can help reduce patients' length of hospital stays and preventable rehospitalizations, and teleparamedics for high-risk patients who leave the hospital. This service enables emergency management services teams who visit patients in their homes to connect to specialists and coordinate the patient/physician interaction in real time during the home visit.
The new institute will also support the clinical operations center, a remote monitoring system and command center that connects clinical care programs throughout the healthcare system. At this center, registered nurses can track physiologic data of patients in the emergency department in real time, as well as monitor the temperature of refrigerators that store medicine, the health system said.