Cooper Health Has Telemedicine Visits Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Even with stay-at-home orders in place, patients can still connect with their Cooper healthcare providers from the comfort of their living room with a telemedicine visit, the health system announced on Monday.

Doctors and advanced practice providers at Cooper and MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper to keep their patients safe and reduce their risk of exposure to new coronavirus, while continuing to provide care and keep appointment schedules.

Telemedicine allows health care professionals to evaluate, diagnose and, in some cases, treat patients at a distance by phone or video.

“Currently, all ambulatory providers have the ability to care for Cooper patients through audio and video visits,” Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph M. Montella said. “This innovation allows us to care for patients’ routine health care needs at a time when face-to-face encounters present certain risks. For patients who have regular primary care or specialty care appointments scheduled during the COVID-19 pandemic, a transition to a telemedicine visit is a safe, practical option.”

Cooper has already been using telemedicine for more than three years when it began using a telestroke program that provided other hospitals with video consultation services with Cooper’s neurological experts.

“It has been a wonderful way to stay connected with our cancer patients, especially during this time,” Director of MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper Dr. Generosa Grana said. “It’s relatively easy to implement and our patients seem happy to be able to stay on track with their appointments, and avoid any unnecessary exposure to COVID-19 using this tool.”

“Patients have been very receptive of this technology in the acute setting because it gave them immediate access to top specialists in the region,” Cooper Neurological Institute Director of Clinical Operations Bethann Mercanti said.“We have the infrastructure in place, and we were able to quickly expand it to other departments.”

Current Cooper patients can ask their care team about a telemedicine visit. Anyone who doesn’t have a regular primary care provider or who needs specialty care, can call 1-800-8-COOPER (1.800.826.6737) to schedule an audio or video telemedicine visit. If an in-person visit is medically necessary, patients will be able to schedule one.