The 2025 Telehealth Program of Excellence award was presented to The MUSC Health Department of Emergency Medicine’s Telehealth Division during the 13th Annual Telehealth Summit of South Carolina held last month in Charleston. The award recognizes a mature program (academic or community-based) that demonstrated considerable outcomes in the areas of clinical intervention, improved access, and community engagement.
The Emergency Medicine Telehealth Division was honored for its Virtual Provider in Triage, or VPIT program which uses telehealth to connect patients with doctors when they arrive at an emergency department.
“It’s a way for patients to immediately see a provider virtually as soon as they arrive,” said Dr. Jeanhyong “Danny” Park, director of emergency medicine informatics and director of emergency telemedicine services at MUSC. “This shortens their wait time and is able to jumpstart their ED care right when they arrive so they don’t have to wait for hours before they get back to a room to see a provider.
VPIT also addresses boarding and crowding crises according to Dr. Marc Bartman. He said in addition to the program cutting “door-to-provider time” in half, VPIT also reduced the number of people who left the Emergency Departments without seeing a provider by 80 percent.
Palmetto Care Connections is the host of the Annual Telehealth Summit of South Carolina. The Telehealth Summit brings together leaders and professionals interested in utilizing telehealth to increase access to health care.
