Telemedicine at Weems Hospital

The challenges of health care delivery in rural America are several and familiar: poor infrastructure, insufficient supply of skilled doctors, and dispersed poor populations, all of which make affordable care hard to achieve. Cindy Drapal, chief nursing officer of George E. Weems Memorial Hospital, says technology is the key to bridging this gap.

In December 2010, Chuck Edwards, chief technology officer of Bluemanta Technology Group in Port St. Joe, began working to secure a grant and to implement a connected health strategy for the hospital.  In May 2011, the telemedicine program took flight with the installation of the hospital’s first mobile telemedicine unit.  The unit allows Weems clinicians and patients to communicate with urban resources via the Internet.

“We have made it a priority to explore innovative, yet practical connected health solutions to improve healthcare delivery.  It was very exciting to see telemedicine become a reality at Weems,” said Edwards.

The telemedicine unit includes an Ergotron mobile cart with onboard batteries, and audio visual equipment from Cisco Systems, Inc.  The unit also features onboard local and remote diagnostics capabilities.  The video otoscope, which uses the latest rod lens technology to provide crisp clear images of the tympanic membrane and auditory ear canal, allows clinicians to record live video or capture still images and review them real-time with patients and other clinicians.  A Bluetooth-enabled electronic stethoscope connects wirelessly to heart and lung sound visualization software. 

Telemedicine has played a key role on several occasions since it was installed, with the most recent application involving the treatment of a trauma patient.  Weems hospital personnel were able to connect to out-of-area surgical specialists to review the patient’s injuries real-time.

In recent years, the financial obstacles for telemedicine have crumbled, making it more cost effective for rural healthcare providers to adopt the technology.

“Medicare and Medicaid reimburse doctors the same basic rate for in-person patient care as a video conference with a remote patient. Private insurance companies are also paying for many telemedicine services. Payers are realizing that connected health technologies, such as telemedicine, make efficient use of dwindling resources to reduce healthcare costs and deliver quality patient care,” said Drapal.

For more information or to see a demonstration of the telemedicine capabilities at Weems, please contact Cindy Drapal at (850) 653-8853.