The Los Angeles Fire Department has rolled out a feature allowing 911 callers to video chat with physicians and nurses to resolve medical issues remotely.

LAFD has been developing the telemedicine program for two years and “accelerated” its launch to last week to help mitigate coronavirus exposure, Chief Ralph Terrazas said Thursday.

Physicians, nurse practitioners and physicians assistants in LAFD’s dispatch center will help screen callers and offer services through a “FaceTime-like platform,” Terrazas said.

The program is meant to ease emergency room overcrowding and decrease potential exposure to the virus for first responders, hospital staff and patients who can be treated from home.

So far, 19 LAFD employees have tested postitive for coronavirus, but a spike in cases could create a crisis for the city’s emergency response, according to the chief.

The program “maintains a high level of medical care, as well as preserves our valuable (emergency medical service) resources,” he said. “This is a great addition in terms of having a tool to deal with this pandemic.”

A dispatcher will callers ask series of questions to determine if they qualify for telemedicine help, and transfer them to a provider if they do.

If the provider decides to proceed virtually, they’ll send a link to the caller’s smartphone to chat via video.

From there, they’ll either be able to treat the person remotely, or send them transportation if they need to be seen in person — either an ambulance to an emergency room, or pre-paid taxi to a local clinic.

Terrazas cited one case in which a diabetic man with chronic pain needed to see a doctor, but was scared to go out and potentially expose himself to the virus. He says the man was prescribed medication he needed and connected with a pharmacy.

The chief said staff follows up with 100% of telemedicine patients the day after the call, checking up on their health as well as their opinion of the telemedicine experience.

“We’re evolving, we’re learning things,” Terrazas said, but the diabetic patient expressed that he was “extremely grateful” to the nurse practitioner who cared for him.

Although it’s still in the pilot phase, Terrazas says LAFD will continue offering remote medical help “long after we get through this pandemic.”