Nursing home will have doctor video-conferencing

PhoneDOCTORx said it is bringing video-conferencing technology to Weymouth Health Care Center.

The technology will enable nursing home residents at the center to have access to a Massachusetts board certified physician via live video conferencing from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, said PhoneDOCTORx, which has its headquarters in Fairhaven.

"Residents who experience sudden health problems can immediately speak with, and be seen by a physician through a highly sophisticated portable audio and visual communication system wheeled to the bedside," said a PhoneDOCTORx press release, which added, "The entire encounter is completed using standard encryption technology to safeguard patient privacy."

Weymouth Health Care Center is an affiliate of HealthBridge Management Inc., which operates 15 nursing centers in Massachusetts. Headquartered in Concord, HealthBridge operates nursing centers in several other states as well, a PhoneDOCTORx spokesman said.

"The Weymouth location is the second HealthBridge facility to implement the PhoneDOCTORx service," the PhoneDOCTORx press release said. "The pilot location is the New Bedford Health Care Center, where the service has been utilized since June 2006."

PhoneDOCTORx was founded by Dr. Paul Bulat, chief of emergency medicine at Saint Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)