In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, healthcare has taken the next big step in using modern technology to provide rural communities with more immediate services and better access to care. This all came about when Avera Health Network created the first long-distance critical care center in the U.S. (and possibly the world) to use high-definition, two-way video consulting to give physicians a 24-hour window of availability from almost anywhere in the central US.
So, you may be asking yourself, how does a doctor in another state help care for a patient using just a webcam? Fred Slunecka, the CEO of Avera Health, helped to explain this question.
“If you think about it, there’s an awful lot of medicine that is just done throughvisualization of X-rays, looking at the chart, talking to the patient, making assessments, and writing prescriptions…”.
Jay Weems, executive director of eCare, adds to this comment by stating, “The magic is being able to see the room, but the bigger magic, we think, is the people that are on both ends—in the rural community and in the hub—that support each other and work together as a team, as medicine is meant to be practiced.”
As the demand for high-quality care increases, more forms of this “telemedical” practice are sure to follow. What’s more is that in emergency situations—where life and death is determined by a matter of seconds—long-distance doctors can be available to the operating room an average of 14 minutes sooner than a local physician. They can also help monitor ICU patients, which the team in South Dakota does for over 60% of them, in addition to tracking medical histories and keeping on top of the latest guidelines, recommendations, and standards of care.
Since October of this year, the town of Sioux Falls has already reported an 18% decrease in ambulance/helicopter transfers to major hospitals, which has already saved them a staggering $6.6 million in total costs, which translates into the local economy.
So, is dentistry the next industry to take on this new form of care? With the amount of related-ER visits these days, some may think it could be possible. Specialists—for example, oral/maxillofacial surgeons—may be some of the top contenders for introducing this type of collaborative environment. Regardless, access to care in this country is growing in demand almost everyday, so only the future can tell if it will be a good fit for the field of oral health.
Information in this article was obtained by The Atlantic, “Where ER Doctors Work Entirely Via Webcam”. To view this post, visit: http://theatlantic.com/health/print/2012/12/where-er-doctors-work-entirely-via-webcam/265935/
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