Physicians at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas are now seeing patients at Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie with just the click of a mouse and the assistance of a joystick—all thanks to a robot named B.E.S.S.Y., th enewsest member of the Baylor medical team.
This newest member of the Baylor Waxahachie team is the latest in robotic telemedicine allowing highly specialized ICU physicians the ability to offer consultation and treatment recommendations to patients 30 miles away at Baylor Waxahachie without leaving their home base.
Via the robot, physicians can not only see and talk to their patients, but they can even perform some aspects of an examination such as listening to a heartbeat or examining a patient's pupils. In addition, the robot software allows doctors to review x-rays and test results simultaneously just as if they were physically at the patient's bedside.
Because Baylor Waxahachie does not have a critical care and pulmonary physician on staff, Jay Fox, president of Baylor Waxahachie and Dr. Baird and the ICU team sought an innovative way to bring this specialized area of medicine to the Waxahachie community. The offsite physician access robot met these needs.
The robot was aptly named B.E.S.S.Y., (Baylor's Extra Specialist Seeing You), by one of its co-workers, Suzy Vale of Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachiemedical staff support.
Stephanie Woolley, M.D., on the medical staff at Baylor Dallas, Robert Baird, M.D., medical director critical care services for Baylor Health Care System and co-director of critical care services for Baylor Dallas and Christian Hayden, M.D., critical care and pulmonary medicine physician on the medical staff at Baylor Dallas are the three physicians who utilize the robot at Baylor Waxahachie.
READ MORE: Futuristic Medicine: Robots Allow Docs to Examine Patients Who Are Miles Away (via ABC's "Good Morning America")
About Baylor Scott & White Health
As the largest not-for-profit health system in the state of Texas, Baylor Scott & White promotes the health and well-being of every individual, family and community it serves. It is committed to making quality care more accessible, convenient and affordable through its integrated delivery network, which includes the Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, the Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance and its leading digital health platform – MyBSWHealth. Through 51 hospitals and more than 1,200 access points, including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas, Fort Worth and Temple, the system offers the full continuum of care, from primary to award-winning specialty care. Founded as a Christian ministry of healing more than a century ago, Baylor Scott & White today serves more than three million Texans. For more information, visit: BSWHealth.com
