Video Chat With Doctor At Duane Reade Helps Save NYC Man's Life

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY — Ron Wuaten's commute to his Financial District job on March 27 left him gasping for air. Climbing the steps out of the subway station made him feel “like I was drowning,” he said. He went to his office, then walked a block to a Duane Reade pharmacy to get checked out — but even that was too much to do without stopping for rest.

“I know I was never in the best of shape, but I didn’t think I was that out of shape,” said Wuaten, a 37-year-old resident of Elmhurst, Queens.

Wuaten made it to the store where he got an examination — not at the pharmacy counter but over a video chat with a doctor that may have saved his life.

The Wall Street pharmacy he visited is home to one of NewYork-Presbyterian's six NYP OnDemand kiosks where patients can get connected with a board-certified emergency physician. The health care network launched the initiative in December.

"I didn’t go to the hospital because the way I felt, I didn’t think it was that serious and I didn’t want to impede on anybody else that had a bigger problem than I did," Wuaten said.

Wuaten was alone in a private room in the store when Dr. Rahul Sharma popped up on the screen. He’s the chairman of emergency medicine and emergency physician-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Sharma had Wuaten check his oxygen level with an instrument at the kiosk and walked him through some breathing exercises. Sharma could tell something wasn’t right, so he recommended Wuaten head to an emergency room.

The doctor called ahead to NewYork-Presbyterian’s Lower Manhattan Hospital to let the ER know Wuaten was coming. The patient had to stop a few times on the short walk there.

What he thought would be a visit of a couple hours turned into a three-day stay.

It turned out Wuaten's blood pressure was through the roof. That wasn't all — he had several other health problems, including congestive heart failure, diabetes and a high heart rate. They had all flown under the radar, as he'd otherwise felt fine and hadn’t been to see a doctor in eight years.

"High blood pressure and heart failure are serious conditions. If they're not taken care (of), they could result in death," Sharma said. "But in his case ... he came in at the right time."

Wuaten now has a regular primary care doctor, a cardiologist and kidney and diabetes doctors — "the whole shebang," he said. He’s also on five medications.

While Wuaten was out of work, he said, his co-workers got rid of all the sweets and other “bad” items in his part of the office.

“It’s a completely different game now,” he said.

Wuaten is one of the roughly 120 patients who have seen doctors through NewYork-Presbyterian’s kiosks since December.

While they’re no replacement for the emergency room, the kiosks help improve access to health care for patients, Sharma said. Doctors who staff them can also call in prescriptions and refer patients to primary care doctors, he said.

“It’s essentially seeing a legitimate doctor without having to go through all of the process of going to see a doctor,” Wuaten said.

The kiosks are part of the growing field of telemedicine, which involves the use of technology to deliver clinical services to patients.

Telemedicine is used in some form in more than half of all U.S. hospitals, and millions of patients use it worldwide to track vital signs and stay healthy, according to the American Telemedicine Association.

NewYork-Presbyterian has started training doctors and medical students on how to interact with patients on camera, which requires attention to eye contact, lighting and other things, Sharma said.

"You’re not just getting on and Facetiming with someone," he said.

Patients also play a role, Sharma said, as doctors can get them to help with the examination. Each NewYork-Presbyterian kiosk has instruments that let the patient check their oxygen level, temperature and blood pressure.

Wuaten did "a lot of self-reflection" after he got out of the hospital, he said. He's now trying to change his diet and lifestyle so he can eventually get off his medication.

"I wish I could've caught this condition sooner, to be honest with you," Wuaten said. "Anything that feels out of the ordinary, you should definitely just reach out to somebody to get some sort of analysis done."

(Lead image: Ron Wuaten's visit with Dr. Rahul Sharma on an NYP OnDemand kiosk led to a three-day hospital stay. Photo courtesy of NewYork-Presbyterian)