Banner rolls out in-patient telehealth on COVID-19 units

Phoenix-based Banner Health has deployed telehealth on COVID-19 units in all of its 28 hospitals so physicians can conduct virtual patient visits without exposing themselves to the coronavirus. The use of telehealth is preserving personal protective equipment and making care more efficient on the units. “More importantly, the physician-patient relationship has gotten stronger along the way,” Syed Ismail A. Jafri, MD, physician executive for hospital medicine with Banner Medical Group, said in a news release. The effort benefited from donated video-conferencing technology from Intel, part of its Pandemic Response Technology Initiative. Banner Health is currently equipping its emergency departments with telehealth capability. (Healthcare Purchasing News story, 6/9/20)