PORTLAND, Ore., March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- To help meet the
demands of possible novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreaks in local
communities across the nation, Bright.md is offering a free
COVID-19 evaluation, screening and escalation tool to all hospitals
in the U.S. In line with the Center for Disease Control's (CDC)
recommendations to leverage telehealth to mitigate the spread of
the virus, the free screening tool will allow patients to get
advice from home, 24 hours a day, steering them away from emergency
departments or urgent care clinics unless the severity of their
condition warrants in-person care.
"The COVID-19 scare will likely cause an overwhelming demand for
hospital facilities and clinical resources, making it difficult to
treat patients who need care the most," said Ray Costantini, M.D., Bright.md CEO and
co-founder. "Crowded emergency departments also raise the risk of
spreading viruses—whether it's COVID-19 or the common flu—to sick
people at the facility, as well as to the larger community."
To combat this potential threat, hospitals can add Bright.md's
free screening tool, based on its market-leading asynchronous
virtual care delivery platform, SmartExam, to their websites. The
online tool guides patients through a dynamically adaptive online
medical interview, reviewing their symptoms and health history, as
well as possible exposure to COVID-19. If the patient presents with
a high-risk of COVID-19 infection, the software will direct the
patient to the hospital's appropriate venue for care, as well as
provide education about the new virus. Patients determined not to
have a high risk of COVID-19 will receive instructions for at-home
care, also keeping them out of the emergency department.
Bright.md's rapid-response team will update the COVID-19 screening
tool with all new CDC recommendations and guidelines as they become
available.
Hospitals interested in adding Bright.md's free virtual care
tool should email covid19@bright.md. Dedicated Bright.md team
members will work with any U.S. hospital to be up and running with
the screening tool within a week.
"When it comes to public health threats of this magnitude, we're
all in this together. And our hearts go out to those who have been
impacted," said Dr. Costantini. "Hospitals that have already
implemented asynchronous digital health tools are well positioned
to deal with the potential onslaught of patients presenting with
COVID-19. For others that do not currently offer asynchronous
telehealth, the negative community health impacts of overcrowded
EDs could be devastating. Offering this free tool to hospitals is
one small contribution Bright.md can make to assist health systems
and the communities they support during this trying time for our
country."
About Bright.md
Founded in 2014 and based in
Portland,
Oregon, Bright.md is a leading healthcare automation
company dedicated to modernizing direct-to-patient telehealth for
healthcare systems with its AI-powered virtual-care platform,
SmartExam. Bright.md partners with premier healthcare
organizations in North America,
including three of the top five not-for-profit health systems and
five of the top ten health systems in the
United States. These partners offer SmartExam to more than
10 million patients who are seeking convenient urgent and primary
care online. Bright.md has been named the Leader in the
"Forrester New Wave™: Virtual Care Solutions for Digital Health"
report, a Gartner Cool Vendor in Healthcare, a Vendor to Watch by
Chilmark Research, and is the preferred choice of AVIA's Virtual
Access cohort. Bright.md is venture-backed by B Capital
Group, Seven Peaks Ventures, Pritzker Group Venture
Capital, Oregon Venture Fund and the Stanford-StartX Fund. For
more information, visit Bright.md.
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SOURCE Bright.md