Rutgers Business School announced on its blog this week a joint venture with its School of Nursing to pilot the use of Telemedicine technology, which virtually connects healthcare providers and patients from underserved populations in Newark, NJ via portable devices that “plug into a laptop, tablet, or mobile phone.”
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The venture, spearheaded by Rutgers distinguished professor of Supply Chain Management Benjamin Melamed, is a result of a joint Rutgers and Newark Chancellor’s Seed Grant, which promotes “high-impact, publicly engaged, collaborative scholarship in Newark.”
Telemedicine, according to Melamed, “has the potential for mitigating the healthcare crisis by improving patient access and substantially reducing costs.”
Ann Bagchi, a School of Nursing instructor and proponent of the joint venture, has plans to bring the Telemedicine Technology to “10 patients residing in Newark public housing developments where access to health care has been limited.” Bagchi says, “When the technology is used appropriately, it has a unique capacity to improve access, lower costs, and improve health care outcomes.”
SmartCareDoc—a subsidiary of Telemed Ventures—developed the technology, which enables “health professionals to remotely listen to a patient’s heartbeat, check a patient’s temperature, blood pressure or pulse rate or obtain an electrocardiogram reading in real-time.” SmartCareDoc CEO and founder Dr. Raj Shah is excited about his company’s collaboration with Rutgers. “This pilot will bring telemedicine to individuals who could benefit from this innovation, but who have likely never heard of its accessibility.”
Telemedicine technology, according to School of Nursing dean and professor William Holzemer, “could be a real asset to our ability to provide high-quality, accessible primary care through our school’s federally qualified health center serving Newark communities.”
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