Telemedicine as an Innovative Clinical Advancement

Christine Bishundat  
Med Ed Committee

     As the prevalence of chronic disease among Americans continues to rise, the need for access to primary care doctors and preventative medicine is becoming increasingly more important. There are many difficulties surrounding the delivery of primary care, particularly to rural areas. To improve communication between medical teams across wide geographic areas, a new conferencing method called “telemedicine” has been developed in the past several years. Patients have seen positive effects of this new communication technique. In fact, some care providers are actively incorporating (1) telemedicine into routine medical practice. Physicians in New Mexico can now easily reach patients in rural areas, bringing education and service to under-served areas.
     Project ECHO has been adopted by BIDMC to serve its geriatric patients. It gives a new meaning to the idea of the "house call." Physicians, nurses, and patients primarily in under-served communities work in dynamic multidisciplinary teams to improve primary care delivery. The goal is for patients to get quality consultations in a timely manner. Ideally, Project ECHO will also help to transform the paradigm of interprofessional teamwork. Physicians, nurses, and other specialists have virtual huddles to discuss cases in grand rounds, participate in shared decision-making, and provide each other with feedback (2). This method also promotes patient-centered medical care in a practical setting. With further development of this initiative, healthcare costs could improve and medical visits will become more efficient for some patients.

1. Domrzalski, Dennis. "Martinez Wants More Money for Telemedicine." American City Business Journals, 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.

2. Zigmond, Jessica. "Project ECHO Expands, Spreads Telehealth Model." Healthcare Business News, Research and Events from Modern Healthcare. Modern Healthcare, 26 June 2013. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.