Telehealth - Using Technology to Help Patients

The Challenge

Our state is facing many health care challenges, especially in rural areas.

Telemedicine in Action Dr. Robert Sidbury (left) sits at Children’s Hospital in Seattle and visits with patient Devyn Gurnard and his father Joseph (on screen) in East Wenatchee.

Senator Murray is working with doctors, nurses, patients, and health care providers to meet these challenges and to ensure the federal government is a strong partner with Washington state. Technology can help break down the barriers to care, and that’s why Senator Murray supports telehealth. Once again she’s working to prevent the Bush Administration from cutting funding for this promising technology.

What is Telehealth?

Telehealth is a way to expand access to healthcare through technology. It uses video cameras, computers and high speed Internet connections to connect doctors with patients who are miles away. Telehealth won’t replace your local doctor, but it can connect you with doctors and specialists who are miles away. Telehealth can also be used to coordinate medical care and to provide doctors with ongoing training.

Benefits of Telehealth

Expanding Access to Health Care - Telehealth

From the Space Program to Your Hospital: Telehealth has a long history in the Pacific Northwest. In the 1960's, as NASA planned to send men into space, it needed a way to track the astronauts’ vital signs from thousands of miles away. NASA turned to hospitals in Washington and the surrounding states to conduct research on telehealth.

makes the best possible medical care much more accessible. For example, a family in Alaska has a child suffering from a rare heart disorder. Normally, the child and family would have to travel to Seattle to receive care from specialists at Seattle’s Children’s Hospital. Through telehealth, the family could stay in Alaska and connect with their doctors electronically. Telehealth provides rural residents with specialized healthcare without having to leave their communities.

Increased Training for Medical Professionals - Telehealth also makes it easier for health care professionals to receive advanced training. Many medical providers need to receive ongoing training. Often, that means leaving their patients to attend training in another city. With telehealth, doctors can be trained in their own communities, making it easier for doctors and keeping professionals where they’re needed most.

Increasing Efficiency - Telehealth can also help boost efficiency. For example, instead of requiring health care professionals to attend classes at regional universities, they can learn the latest techniques and procedures, regardless of location, from the nation’s best instructors. During the Anthrax scare, the Centers for Disease Control informed medical professionals across the nation using Washington state’s telehealth infrastructure.

Challenges To Overcome

Distributing the Technology - One challenge is getting the technology in the hands of providers. Too often, the technology does not reach those who would benefit most from it.

Educating Patients and Providers - Not many people know about telehealth and what it can and can’t provide. We need to help educate patients and providers about the benefits of telehealth.

Training - Medical providers need be trained to use telehealth. One solution is to encourage medical schools to include telehealth training in their curriculum.

Reimbursement - At the federal level, there are several reimbursement questions that need to be answered. For example, if a doctor in New York provides care to a patient in Washington state through telehealth: should the New York doctor or the Washington state medical center receive payment? These questions need to be answered at the federal level.