WCTN Telemedicine Network Monthly Newsletter
October 2014 Newsletter
Wesley Medical Center
In This Issue
Telemedicine in Small-Town America: A game changer for rural hospitals
Why Telemedicine's Window is Finally Opening
Interested in helping to improve acute ischemic stroke care at your institution? Informative Genentech webinar series available.

 

Telemedicine in small-town America

A game changer for rural hospitals.

By Bryan Coffey, Chief Executive Officer, Hamilton County Hospital
Health Management Technology  |  November 2014

It may be hard to imagine, but there are hundreds of counties in the United States that are designated not just as rural but as frontier (defined as having fewer than six people per square mile). One of those is the county we serve: Hamilton County, KS. It's a 55-mile drive from here to the nearest Walmart store. Our hospital is one of more than 1,300 critical access hospitals across America, and many of these facilities are being revitalized by telemedicine.

 

Like many small hospitals, our service lines had been eroding because we couldn't make them work financially. When I became CEO here, many patients had to travel between four and five hours each way to either Wichita or Denver to see specialists. For elderly patients, that usually meant a one-night stay in those cities, adding to the cost and inconvenience.

 

That's all changed, thanks to telemedicine. Our hospital now has a robot that allows neurologists and other specialists to provide consultations from our tertiary care partners: Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, CO, and Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. With telemedicine, residents in our small community can get the same high-caliber care they'd receive in large metropolitan hospitals. (Ironically, there are more employees at Swedish than there are residents of the town we're in.)

 

Our robot may not resemble Data on "Star Trek," but it's still an amazing device. It can run an EKG or sonogram for the remote physician in real time, and it can even glide down the hall to a patient's room on its own. And unlike most sci-fi robots, it can cost-justify itself.

 

For decades, the mantra at most rural hospitals has been "stabilize and ship." But that meant, for example, that stroke patients often didn't get timely treatment. Conversely, many patients got needlessly transported to city hospitals when care could have been provided locally.

 

Telemedicine has totally changed the economics of care. If our hospital has just one patient per month stay in our facility instead of being shipped out, we've more than paid for our robot lease that month.


 

Read the rest of the article here.

 


 

 

Why Telemedicine's Window is Finally Opening
By Krista Drobac, Alliance for Connected Care  |  VB News  |  October 22, 2014

 

The telemedicine window has opened, and 2015 will be the year that we go through it. The idea of telemedicine has floated around in the "soup" primarily in relation to ensuring care in rural areas. We've seen localized examples of success using virtual care, as well as increasing broadband deployment and plenty of champions of telemedicine policy among rural lawmakers. However, until now, there hasn't been momentum to truly integrate the use of telemedicine into the spectrum of health care services for all Americans. Four factors have created the political momentum and policy environment for changes in the regulatory and legal structures around telemedicine, making this a critical time to effect change and finally make telemedicine mainstream:

 

1.  Consumer Demand for Access, Convenience, and Engagement

Today's consumers are accustomed to using technology for quick access to products and services. Health care is no different. (Read more.)

2.  Growing Emphasis on Value-based Care

The evidence is mounting that telemedicine can help achieve the "triple aim" of reducing health care costs while improving patient outcomes and access to quality care. (Read more.)

 

3.  Broadband Infrastructure
Only three percent of American adults had a high-speed broadband connection at home in the year 2000. By May 2013, that number reached 70%. (Read more.)

4.  Bipartisanship
Telemedicine has all of the political elements that lawmakers seek: Their constituents who have used it like it. It's technologically advanced and presents a vision of the future of health care. It lowers costs and increases access. (Read more.)

 

Read the rest of the article here.

 

 


 

Interested in helping to improve acute ischemic stroke care
at your institution?
Informative Genentech webinar series available.
One more session in November.


  

 

Session 1 Objectives:

  • Summarize evolving CMS quality measures related to the acute care of stroke patients
  • Discuss how quality measures may affect institutional policy and practice
  • Describe best practices to assess quality measures and help improve quality of care for acute ischemic stroke patients

 

Session 2 Objectives:

  • Discuss how to communicate quality measures to your broader team in a simple and effective manner
  • Develop methods to motivate your team to take action and help improve quality at your institution
  • Learn how tracking measures and metrics can help identify program gaps and help improve patient management

 

Presented by

Debbie Camp RN, BSN, MHA, SCRN

Stroke Program Manager

Piedmont Newnan Hospital

Newnan, GA

 

If you have any questions regarding this webinar, please contact your local Genentech representative.

 

Note: No CEUs will be offered for attending this session.
   

  

 

WesleyCare Telemedicine NetworkMegan Canter

Director of Telemedicine

HCA Continental Division

4900 S Monaco Street, Suite 380

Denver, CO 80237-3487
303-788-2568 (ofc)

303-717-9995 (cell)

[email protected]

 

 

 

 

Note: Forwarding this e-mail will NOT add the recipient's name or address to my mailing list.