MI2’s MedStar Telehealth Innovation Center Fuels System Delivery of 100,000+ Telehealth Sessions During COVID-19 Response By May 1, 2020

During the peak of the spring 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, MedStar Health conducted more than 4,500 telehealth encounters each weekday to ensure safe and efficient care for our patients, providers, and communities. By May 1, the system had reached the significant milestone of more than 100,000 telehealth sessions delivered in total during the pandemic.

Fueled by MI2’s MedStar Telehealth Innovation Center (MTIC)—and achieved in collaboration with providers and other partners across and beyond our system—here’s a look at how three MedStar Health telehealth service areas contributed to this exceptional care milestone: 

• MedStar Health Video Visits represented about 78% of the 100,907 total sessions with 78,267 scheduled outpatient video visits delivered from the service’s March 23 launch through May 1. Read more about how MTIC supported the launch of MedStar Health Video Visits on the related Featured Projects page.

• MedStar eVisit, a patient-initiated, on-demand urgent care video visit, drove 15% of the volume with 15,531 visits. Read more about how MTIC rapidly scaled MedStar eVisit on the related Featured Projects page.

• MedStar eConsult, which represents inpatient telehealth offerings often conducted between two providers for patient evaluation or professional consultation, comprised the remaining 7% of the total with 7,109 sessions.

As these services have scaled, so too have MedStar Health efforts to educate patients and address questions related to telehealth services. Examples involving MI2’s MTIC Medical Director Dr. Ethan Booker include his MedStar Washington Hospital Center Center View blog post educating the community about telehealth options that are offered across our system, as well as his video demonstration of a MedStar Health Video Visit.

Additionally, you can read more about MedStar Health’s initial telehealth response to COVID-19 in a sampling of news and other online coverage from March through May 2020:

• Modern Healthcare, Congress must act to ensure telehealth can be used to combat the coronavirus (March 2)

• The Daily Record, Md. hospitals using telehealth to address coronavirus worries (March 16)

• WBAL-TV 11, Hospitals push more people to use telemedicine to prevent spread of coronavirus (March 17)

• WTOP, Telehealth thrives, health care missions continue despite social distancing (March 25)

• WJLA, MedStar Health treating around 500 therapy patients every day via telehealth appointments (April 2)

• NBC 4, What to Know About Getting Tested for Coronavirus in DC (April 6)

• The Baltimore Sun, Maryland hospitals join other health care offices in turning to telemedicine during coronavirus fight (April 20)

• WJZ 13, Coronavirus Response: Doctors Connect With Patients Through Video Calls (April 20)

• CNN affiliate stations nationwide, Surgery Patient Using Telemedicine (April 29)

• U.S. News & World Report, Innovative Telehealth Programs Across Medical Specialties (May 8)

• Healthcare IT News, How MedStar Health went from 2 to 4,150 daily telehealth visits in two months (May 14)

• Healthcare IT News, Telehealth set for 'tsunami of growth,' says Frost & Sullivan (May 15)

• mHealth Intelligence, COVID-19 Gives Providers a Blueprint for New Telehealth Strategies (May 18)

• Georgetown University Medical Center, Learning ‘Webside Manner’: Georgetown Medical Students Step Up as Telehealth Needs Surge (May 28)

Please note: General MI2 website updates were paused in recent months as our team focused on the COVID-19 response. As we resume updates in late June/July 2020, we are ensuring that select historic milestones that have passed are still represented in our newsroom.