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EDITORIAL: The benefits of telemedicine
(Chattanooga Times (Free Press, TN) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 26--Access to adequate health care is one of the nation's most pressing problems. It is an especially urgent problem in rural areas where relatively few physicians practice, specialists are rare and hospitals are small. Telemedicine promises to help resolve those problems in areas like Southeast Tennessee.
Telemedicine allows medical information to be electronically passed safely and securely from one site to another. It provides a connection between rural physicians and hospitals, and specialists and large hospitals in metropolitan areas. The benefit of such a link is substantial. Telemedicine can save lives and improve the quality of care for patients who otherwise would have to travel long distances to receive specialized services.
Economic development groups and hospitals in the region recently have won significant federal grants to underwrite an electronic network to serve the region. The initial grants will be used to connect the Copper Basin Medical Center in Copperhill, Tenn., to Erlanger Health Systems in Chattanooga.
The connection, funded by $2.2 million from the Federal Communications Commission and $280,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission, will provide a swift and efficient link between providers at the Copperhill center and the Chattanooga hospital..
The service, expected to be operational in March, will be a godsend for those in Copperhill and, later, for residents in Rhea and Sequatchie counties when facilities there tie into the network. The connection will allow specialists in Chattanooga -- cardiologists or high-risk obstetricians, for instance -- to see images and to discuss symptoms in real time with physicians and patients many miles distant. That will enable health care providers at both ends of the electronic link to serve the public in a more efficient and economic manner.
If information transmitted electronically suggests a patient needs immediate care unavailable in a rural setting, transportation can be arranged quickly. Conversely, diagnosis and treatment plans often can be determined though electronic communication, thus saving an unnecessary trip to a specialist.
The electronic partnership between hospitals large and small is beneficial to patients and physicians in both rural and urban areas. When telemedicine works efficiently, it allows rural physicians and hospitals to keep and treat many of their patients at home. It also allows specialists to provide advice and treatment to those who otherwise would not have ready access to their services even as it reduces the number of unnecessary doctor visits and hospitalizations.
At a time when access to affordable medical care has reached the crisis level, any methodology that holds the promise of safe, accurate and efficient medical care at a reasonable cost is welcome. The telemedicine link that will tie Erlanger to smaller health providers in the region does just that.
To see more of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesfreepress.com.
Copyright (c) 2009, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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