News Release:
Jul. 15, 2011
Telehealth & Transplant
Patients Benefit from Telemedicine Follow-up Care
ATLANTA - In an age where gas prices are high and time is money, telemedicine seems like a logical solution to long drives to the doctor’s office, but it’s proven to be much more than that for some patients. Emory University is taking advantage of this technology to make treatments more accessible for more patients.
With the help of Georgia Partnership for Telehealth, the Emory Transplant Center first introduced its telemedicine program in January 2009 and has since seen over 40 patients using the telehealth technology, according to Kevin Clark, business manager for Emory’s transplant department.
The program grew out of concerns for patients facing increasing barriers, particularly travel costs, that prevent them from receiving the follow-up care necessary to ensure the success of their transplants, said Allan Kirk, scientific director of the Emory Transplant Center.
Today, patients can consult with their doctors face-to-face about their transplant conditions without having to make the drive to Emory. A typical telemedicine consultation uses a web-based computer camera and screens equipped with tools that send and receive real-time medical information as well as live video.
“Each telehealth clinic that we use has an on-site nurse facilitator present to guide the patient through the visit for the physician that is back here in Atlanta,” said Kirk. “The software allows us to not only see the patient through a high-resolution camera, but also there is unique telehealth equipment, such as a virtual stethoscope, that the nurse can place on the patient allowing the physician to actually hear the heart sounds and the breath sounds through the computer.”
For patients who have recently received a transplant, such consultations can be critical. With the telemedicine program, doctors are able to monitor a patient’s response to the transplanted organ and check for symptoms of rejection or other problems. Patients, in turn, need not spend the extra time and money traveling to Emory to have these check-ups done.
Clark stated that patients who have utilized Emory’s telemedicine program so far have saved about 9,400 miles of drive time. This is welcome news to out-of-state patients especially, and Frank Brickey, of Ocala, Fla., can attest to it.
Rather than making a six-hour drive to Atlanta for evaluations following his kidney transplant in 2008, Brickey drives half the time to a patient presentation site in Tifton, Ga., that provides telemedicine consultations with his Emory doctor.
“There is no waiting time, you just went right in and they take your vitals and you sit down in front of the teleprompter on the screen and communicate with the doctor face-to-face,” Brickey said. “It is very beneficial in that they know about you and it’s neat to have that contact with them. It is very reassuring.”
In addition to saving time and money, Brickey was also able to receive the care he needed when complications arose with his kidney because of his ability to access the very doctors who performed his transplant.
“I would definitely encourage anyone that has had a transplant at Emory or anywhere else that they stay close to the team that worked on them, with their physician and with their coordinators,” Brickey said.
Brickey also stated the staff at the telehealth sites also eased his health needs, and according to Kirk, such staff has also helped rebuff the perception of telehealth as too sterile.
According to the American Telemedicine Association, there are currently 200 telemedicine networks in the United States, linking over 3,000 institutions throughout the nation. The market for telemedicine is continuing to expand as technological advancements provide more venues for communication and as the need for specialized healthcare increases in many areas of the country.
Moreover, as the population of the U.S. continues to grow, the need for healthcare in currently inaccessible locales will also continue to increase. With the advent of telehealth, patients and doctors will be brought closer and closer together as medical assistance becomes more attainable in more areas.
“Anything that breaks down a barrier between a patient and a physician ultimately improves care,” said Kirk. “And that ability to communicate without the barriers of distance or expense I think eventually is going to pay dividends in better outcomes.”
For more information on this program, please visit Emory Transplant Center’s Telemedicine page.
