UMass Memorial Health Care in Worcester, which used internet-based medical appointments rarely before the coronavirus pandemic hit, has now held more than 100,000 such telehealth visits.
That news, given Sunday in a memo to caregivers from the health system’s top information and virtual medicine officials, came with another announcement: UMass Memorial will be switching to Zoom for telehealth visits on a pilot basis starting July 13, using the popular video conferencing platform in a professional version integrated into Epic, UMass Memorial’s online patient health records system.
Zoom will enable telehealth visits that are stable, fast and easy to use, and enable patients and providers to have telehealth visits through the Epic system, hospital officials said. Zoom telehealth visits will comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA.
UMass Memorial will be using a new version of Zoom that has solved reported security issues, the hospital memo said. The hospital system is continuing to work on improving telehealth options for inpatient settings.
