A new project will build out the VA’s telehealth platform to create a large telecritical care program, according to a statement.
The US Defense Department’s Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) and Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) recently started the National Emergency Telecritical Care Network (NETCCN) Project, to build “virtual critical care wards.”
“COVID-19 presents a situation where critical care resources can be overwhelmed by patient volume. Even if
enough equipment is made available, there are not enough critical care trained clinicians to manage all of the
critically ill patients during a national emergency, especially in rural and austere locations. The NETCCN project
seeks to deliver this capability from anywhere to anywhere leveraging our existing mobile networks,” COL
Jeremy Pamplin, TATRC director said in a statement.
“The COVID pandemic is stressing our healthcare system in many ways we’ve never seen before. There are simply not
enough qualified clinicians and other staff where we need them. We called on the nation to propose platforms
to address this fundamental challenge,” says TATRC science director Matt Quinn in a statement.
The program will partner with Avera Health, the Oregon Health and Science University, the Medical University of South Carolina, UPMC, Philips, Deloitte Consulting, the Expressions Network, Unissant and the Geneva Foundation.
