New York City hospital starts remote coronavirus monitoring
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In the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Mount Sinai Health System announced a new remote monitoring platform to help provide care and monitor COVID-19 patients who are recuperating at home.
Known as the Precision Recovery Platform, the database was originally used for stroke victims but has been adapted for COVID-19 patients whose symptoms are not severe enough to be hospitalized. Launched early last week, hundreds of patients have already enrolled in the platform.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In a statement obtained by Fox News, Dr. Christopher Kellner, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and co-developer of the platform, said the technology will play a "massive role" in the crisis.
A Samaritan's Purse crew works on building an emergency field hospital equipped with a respiratory unit in New York's Central Park across from the Mount Sinai Hospital, Sunday, March 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
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“And with remote monitoring of COVID-19, we can save hospital resources for the patients who need them most, but also quickly triage patients if and when they begin to show more severe symptoms while they are being monitored at home," Kellner added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dr. David Putrino, who co-developed the platform along with Dr. Kellner, said the platform can help reduce the strain on the hospital system while giving care to those who need it.
“At the same time, we can also continue to provide vulnerable patients with excellent routine care, keep them out of the hospital, and shield them from additional exposure to the virus," Putrino explained. "We are saving lives."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The platform is simple to use. Patients can text the words "Precision Recovery" to (332) 213-9130 and a member of the Precision Recovery team will contact them quickly to establish a video chat to get started. The patient then downloads an app, MyCap, to input their symptoms, which the team is able to track and monitor. If there is concerning data coming from the app, a provider can establish a video chat with the patient and if necessary, an emergency medical team can elevate the situation.
Mount Sinai has been at the forefront of the coronavirus pandemic in New York City. A spokesperson for the hospital system told Fox News it recently started its trial of experimental plasma transfusion from recovered COVID-19 patients into other patients that are critically ill.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As of Monday morning, more than 1.28 million coronavirus cases have been diagnosed worldwide, more than 337,000 of which are in the U.S., the most impacted country.