By Jennifer Bradley, Staff Writer
It also explains that more than 25 percent of
emergency room visits are for non-urgent or
unknown causes, and that access to telemedicine
care, especially for rural residents, will help
save the hospital rooms for those most in need.
Ten percent of physicians practice in rural
America, while nearly one-quarter of the
population resides in these same areas.
With this research, the need for telemedicine
standards to eliminate risk to both practitioner
and patient has not gone unnoticed. The American
Telemedicine Association has developed what it
calls the "Core Standards for Telemedicine
Operations," some practice guidelines as well as
technical standards for the industry. From
quality care and performance management to
patient awareness and licensing requirements,
the document offers professionals a roadmap in
this fairly unchartered territory.
Telemedicine For All Ages
Since January 2007, students at New York’s
Onondaga County schools are using telemedicine
to monitor their diabetes. Each month, the 23
students have standing appointments with school
nurses, who use first-rate technology, including
a computer-mounted camera, to speak with
doctors, record blood sugar levels, etc. Doctors
are able to write prescriptions for the school
nurse if insulin or other medication is needed.
In the eastern United States, diabetic
monitoring is also a target service for the
Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice. The
organization received a grant in 2003, which
allowed it to buy 25 monitoring units that are
stored in high-risk cardiac and diabetic
patients’ homes. Patients are prompted each day
to take their own vital signs, which are then
sent to a nurse who analyzes the data.
The same program is helping patients in the
southern part of the country, through Acadian
Ambulance’s Telehealth Monitoring. This group
has partnered with home health agencies,
providing in-home patient monitoring. Decreasing
re-hospitalization rates and emergency
department visits is the purpose, said Faye
Bryant, the Telehealth nurse manager. Patients
are then able to heal in their own homes, with
less cost, and less stress to patient and
families alike.
In Iowa, Colonial Manor, a nursing home in
Amana, is serving as a test site for
e-TeleHealth, a system developed by the
University of Iowa that provides full,
interactive, live-video and audio capacity. A
nurse, dentist, and physician can be sitting in
their offices or homes and access the
e-TeleHealth Web site for carrying out a live
visit with a patient.
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