Within seconds, the 42-year-old father of three was face to face with Dr. Kelvin Burton, his primary care physician.

Just months ago, Proctor would have had to drive for nearly an hour round-trip from his home in Powder Springs to Burton’s Douglasville family care practice just for a checkup.

Not anymore.

Now in what amounts to a 21st century house call, Burton and other doctors are seeing their patients via teleconferencing on personal computers, iPads and, if they have the app, iPhones. From the convenience of home, patients can receive care for minor illnesses or receive a diagnosis for something as complicated as a heart condition.

Paula Guy, CEO of the Georgia Partnership for Telehealth, believes telemedicine may represent the future in health care delivery.

“I think it’s so important that we began taking care of patients beginning at home, and telemonitoring is going to be key to reforming health care,” she said. “However, it will be up to each state’s medical licensing board to determine whether it is appropriate or legal to provide consultations to patients in their homes via video without a history and physical.”

Troy Heidesch, CEO of Smart House Calls based in Watkinsville, said that research shows that 85 percent of all Georgia patients age 18 to 85 have Internet access, and of those, 90 percent have web cameras or would be willing to buy one to see their doctor through telemedicine for minor problems.

And perhaps most telling, he said, is 42 percent say they would consider changing doctors to take advantage of the service.

Heidesch said the basic premise and the underlying mission of Smart House Calls is to improve patients’ ability to connect with their physician without having to wait in a potentially infectious office setting. The company provides a secure HIPAA complaint portal on the Internet that allows doctors such as Burton and their established patients to see and hear each other online. Clinicians can also use it to securely send patient information to and from one another, including live ultrasounds, heart sounds, electro cardiograms and medical records.

In addition, Smart House Calls’ portal is robust enough for large enterprises but inexpensive enough for the single physician practice: no downloads, no expensive hardware and easier to use than your cell phone.

“We’re never going to replace you going to your doctor, Heidesch said. “But for minor problems such as a cold, sore throat, things you’d normally call the doctor for, Smart House Calls provides patients the easiest and most convenient way to see their doctors at a price that any family practice doctor can easily afford.”

Georgia in the vanguard

For some time now, Guy said the Peach State has been a leader in applying telemedicine.

GPT was awarded the Southeastern TeleHealth Resource Center grant and is one of 10 “resource centers” designated by the U. S. Health Resources Services Administration’s Office for Advancement of TeleHealth to help promote the concept across the country. Since its inception in 2007, she said the nonprofit has grown from 40 locations to 267 participating clinics and sites and more than 175 specialists and health care providers.

Guy said that in the beginning the partnership was begging people to participate, and now people are coming to GPT “because they see the value and how incredibly efficient and cost-effective it is to provide care using technology.”

Using high-definition cameras and Bluetooth stethoscopes, doctors are able to diagnose problems such as ear infections, throat problems and heart murmurs, Guy said.

Not only does telemedicine allow for more timely patient care and diagnosis, it reduces the need for unnecessary hospitalizations and emergency room visits.

For example, Guy said that in 2010, 44 Berrien County schoolchildren showed up in the emergency room for asthma-related illnesses at a cost of about $2,500 per visit. In 2011, the year a telemedicine program was implemented in the South Georgia county, only one showed up.

“That’s pretty incredible,” Guy said.

Although there are some things such as touch that can’t be done with telemedicine, Guy said the effort has a satisfaction rate of 95 percent from its patients and 91 percent from its physicians.

“It’s not about the technology anymore, it’s about applying it,” Guy said. “In the next few years it will no longer be known as telehealth. It’s just going to be the way we do health care.”

Saves time, travel

When Proctor learned Burton was offering Smart House Calls, he signed up immediately.

Unlike most people who see their primary care physician once a year, Proctor said he has to come in once a month.

“It’s great because it saves me time, and with gas prices so high, it’s easier on the bottom line,” Proctor said. “It kind of reverts back to the old house call, only it’s online.”

Burton said he saw Smart House Calls as a way to expand and enhance patient care in his practice. So far, about 20 of his patients have used the service in lieu of an office visit.

“Quite often I have patients come into the office who just need to ask questions,” he said. “Having a face-to-face encounter is important, but if all you’re doing is going over lab work, reviewing tests or making a referral to a specialist, this was the answer.”

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) April 03, 2012

Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth, Inc. (GPT) is honored to have been asked by the Medical Association of Georgia to participate with the annual Doctor of the Day on Tuesday, March 13, 2012. This is the third consecutive year GPT has had this opportunity to inform our legislators of progress and advances being made in Georgia. On each day the Georgia Legislature is in session, the State provides a “Doctor of the Day” to take care of any medical needs that may arise among senators, representatives and visitors. This year those medical needs were met via a telemedicine video connection with Dr. Jean Sumner from Washington Internal Medicine in Wrightsville, GA. A full demonstration of the connectivity capabilities and exam scopes was conducted for the House and Senate. This connection was made possible with the assistance of Georgia Public Web.

Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth (GPT) is the leading agency in Georgia focusing on increasing access to healthcare through innovative use of technology including telemedicine, health information exchange and telehealth. There are now over 260 partners across the state, 175 specialists and physicians providing healthcare via telemedicine. Many specialties are available via the GPT network including adult and pediatric subspecialties. Other telemedicine applications include primary care, skilled nursing facilities, mental health facilities, child advocacy, and school systems. The network is also utilized for continuing education, and GPT provides consultative services in network design and telemedicine development and implementation.

“The GPT network is the fastest growing, most applied telemedicine program in the nation,” states Paula Guy, CEO. She says GPT is now working to launch the Alabama Partnership for Telehealth (APT) while also continuing to work with Florida, Minnesota, Maryland, and South Carolina on plans for a statewide network within those states as well. GPT is also gaining opportunities in other countries to assist with the development of additional telemedicine programs.

Dr. Jean Sumner was introduced via a live video feed carried on the GPT network to both the House and the Senate. She presented the benefits of telehealth and how technology is changing the way she accesses specialties for her own patients. Dr. Sumner was then available to the legislature for questions and general equipment demonstrations via video for the remainder of the day from inside the medical station.

“Georgia is leading the way in reforming healthcare using technology,” said Paula Guy, CEO of GPT. We are grateful to have Governor Nathan Deal, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, and a legislature that are visionaries and support the efforts of GPT to provide efficient, quality and cost effective means of providing access to care.”

GiGi Goble

Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth, Inc.

912-285-0902

Email Information

With the support of Governor Robert Bentley and Ron Sparks, Director of the Alabama Rural Development Office, the Alabama Partnership for TeleHealth will provide an opportunity for TeleHealth services to expand and provide greater access to healthcare to all of Alabama.

“Serving as a physician Governor gives me a unique perspective on the health problems facing Alabama. I have seen the impact that a shortage of providers can have on a rural community. I am committed to working with the provider community, stakeholders and insurers across the state to make the telemedicine effort a success.” Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama

“During my eight-year tenure as Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, I learned first-hand of the desperate need for improved healthcare services throughout our state—especially in the rural areas, where so many of our citizens are in poor health and suffer from chronic medical conditions. They do not have access to the medical care that they need. This (TeleHealth) initiative would profoundly impact patient care and outcomes, as well as healthcare providers, and the communities they serve.” Ron Sparks, Director, Alabama Rural Development Office

APT’s Mission is to:

•     Improve and promote the availability and provision of healthcare services in rural and underserved parts of Alabama.
•     Educate and provide training and technical assistance to hospitals, clinics, and primary care providers to implement and achieve access to healthcare that is efficient, high quality and cost effective.
•     Reduce the service barriers that exist for patients who live in rural parts of Alabama at a distance from hospitals and other medical facilities.

Dr. Michael McConnell at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta checks in with Justin Smith, 10, and Justin’s mother, Marletti Guest, via video from the Tifton Regional Hospital in South Georgia. Telemedicine allows doctors and nurses to virtually examine patients.
Phil Skinner pskinner@ajc.com Dr. Michael McConnell at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta checks in with Justin Smith, 10, and Justin’s mother, Marletti Guest, via video from the Tifton Regional Hospital in South Georgia. Telemedicine allows doctors and nurses to virtually examine patients.

Dr. Michael McConnell explains how he uses telemedicine to perform checkups with patients hundreds of miles away. The Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth has become one of the most robust, comprehensive networks in the country.
Phil Skinner pskinner@ajc.com Dr. Michael McConnell explains how he uses telemedicine to perform checkups with patients hundreds of miles away. The Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth has become one of the most robust, comprehensive networks in the country.

A small-business owner and single parent to his great-nephew, Douglas knew taking time off to drive to an Atlanta specialist would cost him hundreds of dollars in lost work, gas and motel expenses. So, despite some doubts, he took the boy to the Berrien Elementary School health clinic in Nashville, Ga., to see a kidney specialist and a psychiatrist using cutting-edge, telemedicine technology that offers parents needed access to top specialists rural areas lack.

“I couldn’t make it without telemedicine,” said Douglas, who repairs restaurant equipment for a living. “It saves me a fortune.”

Georgia has established itself as an innovator in telemedicine technology — using it to expand access to health care, transform the way care is delivered and cut overall costs.

The Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth network has rapidly expanded in recent years to include nursing homes, school clinics, emergency departments, primary care and other providers with 175 physicians in 40 specialties. Statewide, telemedicine sessions have soared from roughly 200 in 2006 to more than 40,000 this year.

Telemedicine offers convenience for patients and can also lower health care costs by reducing avoidable hospital visits and providing regular access to care in remote parts of the state, said Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth CEO Paula Guy.

Patients in nursing homes can be seen by a doctor without a costly ambulance trip to the ER. Trauma specialists can advise doctors in community hospitals on how to care for a patient, avoiding flights to larger facilities. Parents who can’t afford to take time off from work can have their child seen via telemedicine in a school health clinic instead of letting an illness get so bad they end up in the ER.

“If you’re getting access to care … you’re not going to end up in the hospital nearly as frequently,” Guy said.

Saving time, money

On a recent afternoon, Dr. Michael McConnell, a cardiologist, sat in front of a 24-inch, high-definition monitor in Atlanta to talk with a mother roughly 180 miles away in Tifton about her 10-year-old son who has had three open-heart surgeries and has needed new medication evaluated.

Telemedicine technology has vastly improved since McConnell first started using it in the mid-1990s. When meeting with patients, he can hear what the nurse hears via wireless Bluetooth technology that sends a signal to his stethoscope. Nurses can use a special camera to examine a child’s eyes, nose or throat, and the images appear on McConnell’s screen.

“You can almost see better” than looking through the small hole of an instrument in person, said McConnell, medical director of the telemedicine program at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Children’s program includes allergy, orthopedics, neurology and other services.

A telemedicine visit saved 310 miles and nearly six hours of traveling on average, according to a study by Children’s examining 609 appointments in the first nine months of this year. It estimated that 86 percent of patients would have missed school and more than 80 percent of parents would have missed a full day of work to come to Atlanta.

“We can help deliver better care and do it more cost-effectively,” McConnell said.

Telemedicine, however, has its limitations.

It may work well for radiology, where specialists can easily read images from a remote location, said Soeren Mattke, a senior scientist at the nonprofit research group RAND Corp. Performing surgery with robots using a video link is riskier, he said. If something goes wrong, someone will have to be on-site to fix problems, he said.

Some patients also may not feel comfortable or trust the diagnosis, Mattke said.

“You feel more comfortable if you sit in a room together and make eye contact,” he said, adding that telemedicine is still likely a trend that’s here to stay.

‘Before its time’

Across the nation, telemedicine is catching a second wind.

A decade ago, the technology was clunky, unreliable and hard to operate, and broadband Internet wasn’t widely available, Mattke said.

Doctors hesitated about not being hands-on, Guy said.

“It was almost before its time,” she said. “We were begging people to participate in the network.”

In 2005, Georgia lawmakers passed a rule requiring insurers to reimburse doctors for telemedicine sessions the same amount they would for in-house visits — key to the technology being more widely adopted, Guy said.

Today, the partnership runs a Web-based system that allows doctors and nurses to schedule visits and provides marketing, education and training. Providers can electronically share medical records, X-rays and other data. The partnership is working to replicate its system in Alabama and hopes to eventually do so in South Carolina and other states, Guy said.

Demand for the technology is even rising in some urban areas, she said. “Travel in Atlanta, of course, can be a nightmare.”

‘Tip of the iceberg’

For Douglas, whose great-nephew regularly talks with a psychiatrist using a video link, his concerns about telemedicine quickly dissipated once he saw how well the nurses and doctors worked together.

“The doctor can see you; you can see the doctor,” he said. “It’s pretty much like being there.”

The school system in Berrien County, which has two family doctors, uses telemedicine at two schools with plans to expand to all five next year, said Sherrie Williams, director of the MED Clinic for the system.

Students can walk into a clinic and see a doctor within an hour and a half, she said. Local pharmacies deliver medicines to campus. If a doctor orders blood work, which a school nurse isn’t allowed to do, someone from the local hospital will come and do it. The system is already well on its way to surpassing the 300 telemedicine visits it conducted last school year, Williams said.

“I do think we’re at the very tip of the iceberg,” she said.

Certified TeleMedicine Clinical Presenter (available DEC 2, 2011)
Certified TeleMedicine Coordinator (Spring 2012)
Certified TeleHealth Liaison (Spring 2012)

The Certified TeleMedicine Clinical Presenter (CTCP) Certification is designed so that its graduates will have the skills to correctly and confidently present patients during virtual encounters with physicians and a variety of specialists.

These courses are the result of collaboration between the following organizations: The Southeastern TeleHealth Resource Center, the California Telemedicine and eHealth Center, Hometown Helath, LLC, Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth.

As an IACET Authorized Provider, HomeTown Health, LLC offers continuing education units (CEUs) for its programs that qualify under IACET guidelines.

Dr. Kesler has over 20 years of broad clinical and operational experience. He has been responsible for strategic and tactical leadership in the behavioral health domain for the two largest correctional medical companies in the country. Within his organizations, he has been the executive lead on the development and implementation of telemedicine programs.

Dr. Kesler has implemented telemedicine programs in many settings including over 13 statewide criminal justice systems that resulted in improved clinical outcomes, increased access to care, and cost savings. He has spoken numerous times at national conferences on the design, implementation, and administrative tasks when implementing a telehealth program.

“I am extremely excited to have Jeff join our executive leadership team where we will benefit immensely from his experience and proven record of success,” states Paula Guy, CEO. “Jeff’s operational leadership and depth of management experience are key additions to support our aggressive growth plans.”

About GPT: Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth, Inc. is the leading agency in Georgia focusing on increasing access to healthcare through innovative use of technology including telemedicine, health information exchange and telehealth. GPT’s success has been built on providing technical assistance and education to its network partners and has been recognized nationally for its robust, statewide network. For more information on how to become a partner visit our website at http://www.gatelehealth.org.