NewYork-Presbyterian and Walgreens has announced a new collaboration to bring convenient access to NewYork-Presbyterian’s world-class care through in-store telemedicine kiosks at select Duane Reade drugstores in New York. NewYork-Presbyterian, New York’s No. 1 hospital, is offering the telemedicine services as part of its NYP OnDemand suite of digital health services.
The first NewYork-Presbyterian NYP OnDemand telemedicine kiosk is currently available at the Duane Reade location at 40 Wall Street in Manhattan, with additional locations expected to open in 2018. These kiosks, located in private, secure rooms inside the stores, offer instant examination, diagnosis and treatment of non-life threatening illnesses and injuries through NYP OnDemand Urgent Care.
With the touch of a button, patients can reach board-certified Weill Cornell Medicine emergency medicine physicians, who provide exams through a high-definition video-conference connection. At the end of the examination, if the physician writes a prescription, it can be instantly sent to the patient’s preferred pharmacy. Pediatric emergency medicine physicians will also be available to provide care during more limited hours. Physicians from ColumbiaDoctors are expected to participate in early 2018.
In addition to the in-store kiosks, Walgreens customers in the New York area using the Walgreens website can access NYP OnDemand Urgent Care to video chat with board-certified emergency medicine doctors. The kiosk experience is further enhanced with medical devices to provide key information to the physician during the virtual visit. These include a forehead thermometer that measures temperature with a gentle swipe of the forehead, a blood pressure cuff to measure blood pressure and a pulse oximeter that measures the amount of oxygen in the body. A dermascope, which allows the provider to see a high-resolution view of skin conditions, is also available.
“These kiosks provide real-time care for our patients, enabling them to consult Weill Cornell Medicine physicians privately through the convenience of their local drugstores,” said Dr. Augustine M.K. Choi, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine in a statement. “We are proud to work with NewYork-Presbyterian and Walgreens to extend the reach of our doctors beyond their offices, making healthcare accessible to patients across the city.”
