A virtual visit was demonstrated by Nicholas Genes, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, and Natalya Sholomyansky, Director of IT Digital Health.
A new telehealth service, Mount Sinai Now, is available free to Mount Sinai Health System employees and their dependents who are covered by Mount Sinai’s Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan. The service provides patients with urgent care from a board-certified physician, almost always a Mount Sinai clinician, via video conference. If there is an emergency, patients should call 911. But Mount Sinai Now, like other urgent care, can be a good choice for treating conditions such as allergies, colds and flu, nausea, rashes, and sprains, says Abraham L. Warshaw, MD, Senior Vice President, and Medical Director of Physician Access Services, Mount Sinai Health System.
The service, which is available 24 hours a day, is part of Mount Sinai’s mission to take the lead in telehealth and population health management. “The idea is giving the right care, in the right place, at the right time,” Dr. Warshaw says.
In a typical visit, a patient might wake up with a sore throat and nasal congestion. She logs into Mount Sinai Now, and within minutes the visit starts, with the patient communicating through FaceTime or another video tool. The physician asks about symptoms, consults the patient’s medical records, and conducts a virtual examination via webcam and monitor, for example evaluating the throat and tonsils, and demonstrating how to check for swollen lymph nodes. Finally, the physician might call in a prescription, or if the symptoms are ambiguous, recommend an appointment with a primary care physician or a specialist.
More than 1,300 staff have registered and 200 have been treated since Mount Sinai Now became available throughout the Health System in May. The team’s plan is to expand the service to other companies, unions, and the public once insurance models are in place. “Patients who use telehealth are saving money, saving travel time, and are able to continue their daytoday life without having to interrupt things or schedule an appointment that might be weeks away,” says Eric Cannan, Senior Director, Telehealth, Mount Sinai Health System.
To register for the free service, go to now.mountsinai.org or visit Google Play or the Apple App Store to download the Mount Sinai Now app.