Regional Clinical Care


As the region’s leading academic medical center, UofL Health Care is dedicated to advancing treatments and providing rural access to innovative care.

UofL Health Care’s Remote Physician Presence Robot Network is the first hospital-based telemedicine program in Kentucky. It is a collaboration with other regional hospitals to provide the best treatment options for patients in specialties such as stroke, general neurology and neonatology.

D33_1715.jpgAmongst the many benefits from the robotic network is a near instant medical consult. UofL physicians work with physicians and nurses in other Kentucky and Southern Indiana hospitals to deliver prompt diagnoses and appropriate treatment plans. The ultimate goal is for the patient to remain in their hometown hospital without a transfer unless it is deemed necessary.

Before the robot is used for medical consults, UofL physicians train doctors and nurses at partner hospitals. For example, UofL’s stroke neurologists share information with partner facilities on the appropriate treatment for acute stroke patients; general neurologists demonstrate how to complete basic neurological examinations before a robotic consult ever occurs.

Additionally, UofL physicians involved in the Remote Physician Presence Robotic Network actively participate in Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses at partner hospital sites. Both the training and CMEs empower partner hospitals to provide immediate care prior to robot utilization.

The CMEs, training and robot consultations are all tools that improve patient outcomes. Research has shown that telestroke networks decrease in-hospital mortality rates and the number of poor outcomes following a stroke. 

Robotic consults offer the flexibility of remote exams, complete with real time, two-way video and audio capabilities. UofL physicians can view vital signs, assist with patient assessments and communicate with health care providers and families in the patient room.

Technology makes the process possible, but the UofL physician and partner hospital’s teamwork is the reason patient outcomes are improving in Kentucky and southern Indiana.

Regional Care Partners




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List of UofL Health Care’s partners in the remote physician presence robot network:

  • Owensboro Medical Health System (OMHS), Owensboro, Kentucky
  • Spring View Hospital, Lebanon, Kentucky
  • Taylor Regional Hospital, Campbellsville, Kentucky
  • Trover Health System, Madisonville, Kentucky
  • Jennie Stuart Medical Center, Hopkinsville, Kentucky
  • Hardin Memorial Hospital, Elizabethtown, Kentucky
  • Pikeville Medical Center, Pikeville, Kentucky
  • TJ Samson Community Hospital, Glasgow, Kentucky
  • Methodist Hospital, Henderson, Kentucky
  • Western Baptist Hospital, Paducah, Kentucky
  • Jackson Purchase Medical Center, Mayfield, Kentucky
  • Frankfort Regional Medical Center, Frankfort, Kentucky
  • VA Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky