Children’s Medical Center Dallas has announced it is launching the state’s first dedicated neonatal telemedicine program—the Children’s Medical Center TeleNICU.
The service will provide physicians at other hospital neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) with 24-hour access to the Dallas-based UT Southwestern Medical Center neonatologists on Children’s medical staff in order to consult on care for the region’s tiniest and most fragile patients.
The TeleNICU program utilizes specialized equipment and secure broadband transmission to allow two-way, real-time interactive communication between hospitals and enable neonatologists at Children’s to virtually examine newborns at distant-site NICUs.
Participating hospitals will connect to Children’s through a mobile equipment cart that includes medical-quality videoconferencing, data transfer, and digital scoping equipment. Children’s Medical Center TeleNICU will be fully operational this month and ready to assist other hospital NICUs located in Texas and beyond, according to an announcement from the hospital.
“As the first telemedicine program of its kind in Texas, the Children’s Medical Center TeleNICU program exemplifies our deep commitment to innovation and the use of proven technology to extend the reach of our expertise beyond the boundaries of walls and geography,” Christopher Durovich, president and CEO of Children’s, said in a statement.
