David G. Ellis, MD, FACEP. Director of Telehealth Services for UBMD Emergency Medicine and the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo. It has been my goal to develop telemedicine as a stable, financially sustainable practice within our group as a model of telehealth care within our specialty and on par with the outstanding services we provide staffing emergency departments for major hospitals within our region. I also practice full-time emergency medicine at the Erie County Medical Center (30+ years) and the VA Western New York Healthcare System (10+ years). I have served in leadership positions in both the hospital and emergency department including as the President of the ECMC Medical-Dental Staff and as Chief of Emergency Medicine for 5 years at the VA Buffalo Emergency Department.

Our current practice of telemedicine in emergency medicine is the culmination of nearly 30 years of work beginning with the implementation of one of the first computer-based telemedicine systems in the world between the ECMC Emergency Department and the Erie County Holding Center in downtown Buffalo in 1994. The practice has also been built on the experience of managing a state-wide telemedicine system for emergency medicine for the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision from 1999 to 2022. UBMD Emergency Medicine Telehealth Services now provides care daily from 11am to 11pm accessible through public facing websites with KaleidaCares and ECMC VirtualCare. We also provide care through partnerships with Independent Health, MATTERS (Medication for Addiction Treatment and Electronic Referrals) and Disability Group Homes with People Inc and Virtual Medical Care.

The education and training of emergency medicine residents and medical students in telemedicine and the mentoring of young faculty members has been and will remain a priority for our teaching program. Current research and system development issues are focused on the telemedicine emergency care management of patient populations with unique medical needs. These include patients with multiple co-morbidities and in unique residency settings such as disability group homes and long-term care facilities. Evaluation and management of the medical, social and psychological factors that lead to frequent emergency department usage and frequent hospitalization is a key component of managing patient populations more efficiently. Transitions of care are an important focus as patients move from hospital to either home or nursing home with a goal of reducing returns for admission or visits to the ER. Addressing New York state’s – and our nation’s - opioid misuse crisis is the primary mission of our work with the MATTERS Network being a resource for medication assisted treatment with buprenorphine/naloxone and avoidance of fentanyl-containing street products.

Emergency Medicine

Physician Gender:

Male