Telemedicine Bill Being Drafted in Washington

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In a story published earlier this month on the Government Health IT site, it was announced that Sen. Tom Udall (New Mexico) plans to propose a bill this spring to streamline licensure for physicians practicing telemedicine. The bill, which would allow physicians to connect to patients in multiple states without needing to apply for separate licenses, has the potential to reduce barriers for patients seeking telemedicine services, and widen the reach of practicing physicians. The Federation of State Medical Boards, which has raised concerns with the proposed changes, is in conversation with Senator Udall to modify the bill.

Locally, a bill recently proposed in Minnesota by DFL Representative Kim Norton (Rochester, MN) aims to allow similar flexibility in licensure for Minnesota nurses practicing telemedicine in other states by allowing their participation in the Nursing License Compact.

As Information Technology networks grow and strengthen, so do the possibilities for telemedicine services. These bills could be an important step in recognizing those possibilities, a change that would benefit patients and providers alike.

To read the full article and find more information on Senator Udall’s bill, click here.

Teledentistry eases pain for hockey player

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I have been encouraging my dentist for years to become a teledentist.  He always came up with the “excuse” that dentistry is more like surgery where you really have to have the patient present to provide the needed care.  I would always respond to him “yes, but, there are several parts of the examination that can be done at a distance”.  Last week, while visiting my dentist for “bridge work,” unexpectedly, he informed me that he had just performed his first teledentistry visit over the weekend with a hockey player! Although, I couldn’t say anything or react to the surprising news (he was working on my mouth at the time) I was trully overjoyed.  I thought “well, my persistence in convincing him to do teledentistry, finally paid off.”

So, here is how the story goes: One of my dentist’s patient’s son was playing hockey over the weekend and got hit with a hockey stick in the mouth and two of his teeth were knocked out.  The player and his family had some quick decisions to make; call their dentist on his cellular phone or go to the ER.  They chose to call their dentist. After a minute or so of discussion about the problem, the dentist asked if they had a smartphone  to take a couple of pictures with and send them to him.  They did!  They sent him a text message with a couple images of the hockey player’s mouth with the two missing teeth. These pictures gave the dentist enough information to provide the family with an immediate medical advice and suggested treatment.  The dentist said “The picture was exactly what I needed to make the evaluation, and, although this cannot provide the same results as a  face-to-face visit where you can palpate someone’s mouth , this picture solved a big part of the puzzle!”  The family was extremely pleased with the outcome of their teledentistry visit.  Not only did they not have to go to the ER to wait for hours and receive care from a provider who is not a dentist, they got the care immediately from their own dentist!

Although, a face-to-face visit to the dentist is the method that we all have been accustomed to because it’s reimbursed by insurance and it’s covered by regulatory policies,  this story shows how telehealth, in general, can be integrated into our daily lives and how easy, inexpensive and most importantly valuable, can be.

Rural Health invades DC

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Today the 23rd Annual Rural Health Policy Institute kicked off today in Washington, DC. We heard an overview from Secretary Sebelius and from HRSA Administrator Mary Wakefield. (Who NRHA President, Lance Keilers, described as rural health’s BFF!)

The speaker from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, Dr. Nancy Nielsen, shared a connection from the President’s State of the Union speech… “Technology makes some jobs more efficient…and other jobs obsolete.” It directly referrenced manufacturing…but can easily apply to healthcare as well. It will be important for us all to prepare for the personnel needs and changes that HIT brings.

Another concern she raised was that medical expenses are the/a main cause of personal bankruptcy. We need to continue to provide care in a more cost-effective manner. It is my thought that telemedicine/telehealth plays a very important role in accomplishing this goal. She shared that, on average, the income for a family of four increased $23,000 over the past decade…and that all but $85 of that increase has gone to pay for healthcare. This was a startling statistic!

If Dr. Nielsen is an indication of the quality of speakers at this meeting, it will certainly be an interesting few days!

Using Telehealth to Improve Time Management

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Here is an article published recently in the December HealthLeaders magazine.  It highlights the role that telemedicine services can play in better managing physicians’ time, the use of telemedicine in an ACO, the role telemedicine can play in the overall strategic direction for the organization, and other benefits.  It will be exciting to see how this project grows as they expand it out of the pilot phase.

Addressing PTSD in Nebraska

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This story, out of Lincoln, Nebraska, highlights how telehealth technologies can be utilized to provide support and assistance to our combat veterans living in the more rural areas of our country and dealing with PTSD.  It is great that the VA has developed an appreciation for telehealth and how it can assist those they serve.  The VA has long been a user of telehealth and it will be even more exciting when clients like Mr. Clark can utilize the telehealth technologies right in his own home of Kearney (where technology is currently available) instead of having to drive even over to Grand Island, let alone Lincoln.

Click here to read the whole story.

Have a cold? Try a Zip visit!

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Most of us having a cold is something common or normal, expecially living in one of the northern states, like Minnesota! And, most of us, try to “fight it” by getting advice from family, friends, neighbors, co-workers etc…  I am one of these people!   Recently, after catching a cold and coughing, sneezing and feeling misearable for 2 days, I decided to try Zipnosis!  Zipnosis is an on-line service which provides diagnosis and treatment for common illneses, like a cold, in minutes! And, the beauty is, that you can do this from anywhere…home, office, on the road, on vacation..you name it, you don’t have to travel anywhere to see advice from a healthcare provider!   You will need a computer and access to the internet, of course.  Thanks to Zipnosis, I didn’t have to suffer for more than 2 days!  Give it a try next time you need a quick answer to a common illness www.zipnosis.com

Food, Fun and Dermatology Screenings

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More than 240 attendees at this year’s Minnesota State Fair received free dermatology screenings thanks to the Great Plains Telehealth Resource and Assistance Center (gpTRAC) and the University of Minnesota.  The telehealth awareness booth was designed to educate fairgoers about telemedicine services while calling attention to the dangers of skin cancer and the importance of regular dermatology screenings to monitor for warning signs of the disease.

Nearly 20 percent of fairgoers screened were advised to seek further evaluation for skin cancer.  Seventeen were suspected of skin cancer and twenty-seven for suspected pre-cancer skin conditions.

“Many of these fairgoers hadn’t made it a priority to get screened for skin cancer until they came upon our booth.  I think this demonstrates that telehealth services can help increase access to specialty care, like dermatological screenings, to ultimately help reduce overall healthcare costs through earlier diagnosis, management and treatment of disease,” said Stuart Speedie, Ph.D., Principal Investigator and Director of gpTRAC.  “Clearly, we accomplished something very positive at the State Fair and hopefully helped prevent the advancement of a dangerous disease in several Minnesotans.”

Telehealth offers increased healthcare service delivery to medically-underserved communities by connecting patients to specialists via technology.  More convenient access to care minimizes patient travel time, reduces out-of-pocket costs and increases the likelihood that patients obtain care when they need it.

During a telemedicine consultation, which can be conducted in a growing number of clinics across the state, a patient is connected to a specialist who is in a separate location via video. A nurse is often on hand with the patient to conduct physical exam tasks as requested by the specialist. Cameras and other monitoring tools allow the specialist to see on screen exactly what the nurse is seeing in person. In addition to skin cancer screenings, telehealth can be used for mental health evaluations, orthopedic consults, management of chronic diseases and a wide range of other medical services.

“This event wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of dermatologists at the University of Minnesota who volunteered 140 hours of time to conduct free screenings during the fair.  With their help raising awareness of telehealth, we hope that access to telehealth services will continue to grow across the state of Minnesota,” added Speedie.

The gpTRAC is one of eleven federally designated telehealth resource centers in the nation supported by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  Serving Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Wisconsin, the gpTRAC strives to promote health care services that take advantage of modern telecommunications technologies.  For more information, visit accesstelehealth.org or gptrac.org.

Click here to see a video of the state fair telehealth visits.