Rush University Medical Center Expands Telehealth Specialist Network to Rural Illinois Hospitals

Rush University Medical Center is expanding its telehealth specialist network to eight additional rural hospitals across downstate Illinois, 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 Rush officials said reduced unnecessary patient transfers to Chicago-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 a Rush vice president overseeing the telehealth program. "This lets a small hospital in a downstate county have the same stroke consult available as one of our Chicago facilities."

The expanded network will connect rural emergency departments to Rush specialists via secure video consultation around the clock, with a particular focus on stroke evaluation, where rapid specialist input can significantly affect treatment decisions. Rush 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. Rush 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.