Moving Towards Transformational TeleHealth At Intermountain Healthcare

Wesley Valdes, D.O., telehealth services director at Intermountain Healthcare, sees the future of telehealth

One of the speakers at the 2013 American TeleHealth Association Conference, held in Austin, Texas, May 5-7, was Wesley Valdes, D.O., who is telehealth services medical director at the Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare. While at the American TeleHealth Association Conference, Dr. Valdes and his colleagues at Intermountain staffed a booth that featured advanced telehealth solutions developed at Intermountain, including a virtual NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) that allows parents 24-7 visual access to their babies, as well as the capability for eVisits with their babies’ care providers.

Intermountain Healthcare’s leaders have committed significant support to establish telehealth technology across the system’s 22 hospitals and 185 clinics. The organization’s telehealth solutions, along with an open source community, are expected to support the organization’s strategy to transform healthcare by delivery high-quality care at sustainable costs, to a widely dispersed population.

Shortly after that presentation, Dr. Valdes spoke with HCI Editor-in-Chief Mark Hagland regarding his and his colleagues’ efforts at Intermountain Healthcare. Below are excerpts from that interview.