Bringing Specialty Care to New Communities with Improved Integration and Expanded Use of Telemedicine

Joseph P. Iannotti, MD, PhD, was recently welcomed into his new role as Chief of Staff for the Cleveland Clinic Florida region. The region grew by more than 6,700 caregivers, 800 beds and about 800,000 outpatient visits this year with the acquisition of the Indian River Medical Center and Martin Health System.

With the growing demand for Cleveland Clinic services in Florida, a new four-story bed tower was completed on the Florida Weston campus, with 75 new beds and an expanded emergency department. A new family health center opened in Coral Springs, and a medical office building welcomed patients in Wellington, in Palm Beach County.

Four Florida hospitals joined the Cleveland Clinic health system: Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital and Cleveland Clinic Martin South Hospital both in Stuart, Florida; Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital in Port St. Lucie; and Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital in Vero Beach.

Dr. Iannotti’s clinical area of expertise is the treatment of shoulder problems that require complex surgical reconstruction. As Chief of Staff, his goal is to improve the quality of care in the communities Cleveland Clinic serves and to improve clinical engagement and integration of clinical care across the Cleveland Clinic Florida region.

With the growth of Cleveland Clinic, how can it ensure it is one organization?

Caregiver engagement — this results from each caregiver having the responsibility and commitment to our patients, each other, our organization and the communities that we serve.

What are you loving about Florida?

The level of enthusiasm among all of our caregivers that we are embarking on a new era in Florida to make a significant difference in the quality of health care in Florida.

What would you like other caregivers to know about Cleveland Clinic Florida and Cleveland Clinic’s growth in the region?

We should all be very proud. We’re making world-class care available to these new communities who appreciate the opportunity we bring to them — they’re expecting us to do great things in Florida. We are committed to living up to those high expectations.

You routinely used telemedicine technology for your patients from around the county and the world. How do you recommend it to others?

I have the commitment to expand the use of these technologies to help bring specialty care to communities that either lack this level of expertise or have limited local access to that level of care.

To providers who would like to look into this: First define the need based upon the values of the patient, then get the advice from others with experience using the technology to help you implement what is best for the needs of your patients.