Louisiana Hospital Extends Access to Virtual Pediatric Radiology

Aiming to improve care outcomes for children and families, Children’s Hospital of New Orleans has entered into an affiliation with Cleveland Clinic to provide enhanced access to pediatric radiology experts via telehealth.

Founded in 1921, Cleveland Clinic is a prominent healthcare organization offering services in 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. In its new collaboration with Children’s Hospital of New Orleans, Cleveland Clinic intends to provide patients of the pediatric medical center with access to 16 pediatric and neuro-radiologists.

The goal of the collaboration is not only to supplement the pediatric radiology providers at Children's Hospital of New Orleans but also to provide access to pediatric radiology services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Cleveland Clinic’s pediatric and neuro-radiologists will support the development of exam protocols, interpretation of images, and physician consultation. The affiliation will operate through instant messaging and Radiology Information System (RIS) and Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) systems.

“We are proud to launch our affiliation with Cleveland Clinic, one of the nation’s top healthcare institutions, to ensure that families throughout Louisiana and the Gulf South have access to the very best pediatric imaging expertise close to home through implementation of their innovative teleradiology platform,” said Jonathan Brouk, chief operating officer, and chief strategy officer for Children’s Hospital New Orleans, in a press release.

In the future, the organizations plan to widen the affiliation to include four more specialists from Cleveland Clinic to examine cardiac MRI images.

“Our team is committed to ensuring that patients receiving care at Children’s Hospital New Orleans receive the highest quality imaging available,” said Michael Aquino, MD, medical director of overnight pediatric radiology at Cleveland Clinic, in a press release. “From the acquisition of images to the report results, we strive to deliver an uncompromising level of quality to each and every child and family we serve, along with the entire care team.”

Increasingly, organizations are entering into partnerships to enhance virtual care.

In June, Cleveland Clinic announced a partnership with Maven Clinic to support its virtual fertility care program. The goal of the collaboration is to provide Maven Clinic members with in-person and virtual support services, including appointment scheduling and financial counseling.

Further, South Carolina-based Prisma Health recently implemented the Tytocare Medical Exam Kit to support remote diagnoses. The kit provides various technology components through which providers can virtually detect, diagnose, and care for multiple conditions. 

Medical University of South Carolina Health also entered into a technology-focused partnership to provide tele-ICU services in August. Together with Hicuity Health, the provider is focused on bolstering access to acute care across the state.