Through telemedicine and tele-ICU services, University of Maryland eCare offers remote patient monitoring, during which UMMS intensivists can direct care for up to 100 ICU patients who are able to stay closer to home.

From a central operations hub on the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) campus in Baltimore, telemedicine technology allows intensivists and critical care nurses to oversee patient care in off-site ICUs during the night and weekend hours, providing a virtual safety net for smaller facilities when the local physician staffing levels are lower. The local staff can also get immediate consultation from a critical care expert who is able to see the patient and their real-time medical data through cameras and live feeds of data.

The system uses cutting-edge cameras in patient rooms along with information such as patients’ vital signs and laboratory and pharmaceutical data, picking up even slight changes in their physical condition. An “eLert” button in each patient room also allows ICU staff to request eCare assistance.

University of Maryland eCare exemplifies one of the core strategies in the University of Maryland Medical System -- to make sure the right patient is in the right place at the right time. University of Maryland eCare extends our expertise in time-sensitive critical care medicine to rural areas, without bringing the patient to Baltimore unless absolutely necessary, easing the burden on patients and their families, and potentially lowering healthcare costs.

Hospitals with ICUs in Maryland monitored by University of Maryland eCare include:

• Calvert Memorial Hospital - Prince Frederick
• Peninsula Regional Medical Center - Salisbury
• St. Mary's Hospital - Leonardtown
• Atlantic General Hospital - Berlin
• Union Hospital of Cecil County - Elkton
• Meritus Medical Center - Hagerstown
• University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown
• University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Dorchester
• University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton