Shriners Hospitals for Children — Philadelphia Increases Virtual Visits in Response to COVID-19 Impact

Shriners Hospitals for Children — Philadelphia is expanding virtual visits (telehealth) in response to putting the safety of our patients and their families first during this public health crisis.

Our hospital has provided telehealth services through specialized equipment and specific locations for many years. Now, through the program called Fast Track Video Visits, physicians at the Philadelphia Shriners Hospital can connect with patients via video conference to conduct new patient evaluations, surgical consultations and follow-up visits to discuss treatment plans. This service is an excellent alternative for patients and families.

Requirements for being able to participate in a virtual telehealth appointment using Fast Track Video Visits includes:

• Meeting the criteria for our specialized care
• A mobile device or computer with internet access that has a microphone and a camera

Once your video visit is scheduled, the hospital will send you a consent form to participate in a virtual visit. Once the completed form is received, you will be sent instructions on how to connect with the hospital using video conference software. The telehealth coordinator could be reaching out to you to set up an appointment if you are suitable for a Fast Track Video Visit. Our team is happy to offer this service to a wide range of patient populations. We are evaluating patients in states where our physicians are licensed, as well as the states that have waived their license privileges due to COVID-19.

The ability to offer this service to patients and families has been easy for our families to set up as more people are becoming familiar with this technology.

"Working with Fast Track Video Visits has made it possible for me to keep up with my patients all over the country. It’s satisfying to come up with solutions despite being far away... and pretty cool to get to see patients' cats and dogs crashing the visit to say hello. I think that families are reassured that they can still be 'seen' and know that if there are emergencies, that our doors are still open," stated Sarah Nossov, M.D., orthopaedic surgeon.

For more information, please contact the hospital at 215- 430-4000.