The Colorado Neurological Institute, the Swedish Medical Center and Blue Sky Neurology have partnered to create the Colorado Digital Online Consult, or CO-DOC, to treat stroke patients remotely, the Denver Business Journal reports.
The first installation of the CO-DOC program, which features online two-way video and communications, recently was completed at Vail Valley Medical Center. If the program is successful at Vail Valley, CNI will consider installing the technology at other locations, the Business Journal reports.
"This technology makes it so I'm almost literally in the room next to the patient," said Dr. Chris Fanale, CO-DOC's physician coordinator. "I can now 'be' at a hospital 100 miles away in a matter of minutes - overcoming the hurdles of time and distance that can mean life or death for some people."
The CO-DOC technology will be paid for by donors and participating hospitals. The cost of a retail set of machines for one remote location is between $50,000 and $60,000, but CNI negotiated a discount of about $20,000 less, the Business Journal reports (Denver Business Journal, 1/25).