Some smaller Ascension hospitals around Milwaukee have opted to only staff critical care physicians by video call in some intensive care units — concerning hospital staff and raising questions around patient care.
Critical care physicians, known as intensivists, have no longer been physically present at some of Ascension Wisconsin’s smaller hospitals in the Milwaukee area as of May 1. The change was first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The hospital system did not confirm to the Journal Sentinel or WPR which hospitals are moving to this telemedicine model, but the Journal Sentinel reported sites undergoing this change include locations in Mequon, Brookfield and Franklin.
The affected intensive care units still staff on-site hospital medicine doctors, known as hospitalists. But hospitalists aren’t specialized in providing critical care, and may not be trained to perform certain highly-specialized, time-sensitive procedures…