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Dr. Rahul Sharma, emergency physician-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been named a top 25 innovator in the healthcare industry by Modern Healthcare. The inaugural list recognizes executives who are initiating and leading transformation across the healthcare industry.

“Dr. Sharma is a true innovator who recognized early the potential of digital tools to transform care,” said Daniel Barchi, group senior vice president and chief information officer of NewYork-Presbyterian. “His visionary use of telemedicine and strong leadership has advanced the delivery of emergency medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian, significantly reducing wait times and enhancing the patient experience.”

Modern Healthcare looked for innovators who found new ways to engage consumers, improve quality of care and lower costs. As emergency physician-in-chief, Dr. Sharma oversees operational activities for the emergency departments at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital. He also leads the Emergency Department’s telemedicine program, ED Telehealth Express Care, which allows patients with non-life-threatening conditions to visit virtually with an emergency medicine physician in a private room. The program is part of NYP OnDemand, NewYork-Presbyterian’s suite of digital health services, and is designed for patients already in the ED with minor conditions such as colds, rashes and sprains. ED Telehealth Express Care, which has significantly reduced wait times from two to three hours to 30-45 minutes, while maintaining patient safety and satisfaction, was honored in 2017 with the Emergency Care Innovation of the Year Award at the American College of Emergency Physicians Scientific Assembly in Washington, D.C.  

Dr. Sharma has also helped lead the development of other NYP OnDemand services, which include second opinions, pre-and-post follow-up doctor’s appointments, peer to peer consults between physicians, and digital urgent care where patients can access emergency medicine physicians through a live video chat, including at pharmacy self-service kiosks in New York City. Since NYP OnDemand’s launch, NewYork-Presbyterian has helped patients through 400,000 virtual encounters across 80 services.

To read more about the Top 25 Innovators award, click here.