Mason City, IA- Three medical facilities are joining forces to offer patients a new service. Mercy Heart Center and Mason City Clinic are teaming with the Ellsworth Municipal Hospital in Iowa Falls.
They're starting a new practice known as "Telemedicine" technology. It allows physicians to connect with patients in Iowa Falls via high definition video and audio.This technology will allow doctors in mason city to hear a patient's heart, view ekg's and assess any signs and symptoms of heart attacks or heart failure during the exam.
"The benefit is that the patient doesn't have to travel,” says Mitch Morrison Director of the Mercy Heart Center. “A primary care physician in Iowa Falls could get a cardiac consultation sort of on demand.”
The service will be available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the hope that it will be available 24/7 eventually.
Along with this new technology, a new Mercy heart center will open in Iowa Falls to provide cardiovascular services.
