IU Health Expands Telehealth Specialist Network to Rural Indiana Hospitals

IU Health is expanding its telehealth specialist network to eight additional rural hospitals across southern and eastern Indiana, giving smaller community hospitals remote access to specialists in cardiology, neurology, and infectious disease that they cannot staff on-site.

The expansion builds on a smaller pilot program launched several years ago at a handful of rural facilities, which IU Health officials said reduced unnecessary patient transfers to Indianapolis-area hospitals by allowing local physicians to consult with specialists in real time during emergency cases.

"A lot of rural hospitals simply can't justify hiring a full-time neurologist for the patient volume they see, but that doesn't mean their patients should get worse stroke care because of geography," said an IU Health vice president overseeing the telehealth program. "This lets a small hospital in a rural county have the same stroke consult available as one of our Indianapolis facilities."

The expanded network will connect rural emergency departments to IU Health specialists via secure video consultation around the clock, with a particular focus on stroke evaluation, where rapid specialist input can significantly affect treatment decisions. IU Health said participating hospitals will also gain access to remote intensive care monitoring support for critically ill patients awaiting transfer.

Rural hospital administrators have welcomed the expansion, noting that staffing specialists in low-population areas has become increasingly difficult as physician shortages worsen nationally. IU Health said it plans to add several more rural hospital partners to the network over the next two years if the current expansion performs as expected.