BY DANA COLE
HERALD/REVIEW
BISBEE — Copper Queen Community Hospital is practicing long-distance medicine.
Trauma Telemedicine, a technology that gives emergency room doctors in Bisbee real-time connection with trauma doctors at University Medical Center in Tucson, was installed on Wednesday, a major step in an effort to expand healthcare in rural communities.
“Bisbee is part of the second trauma medicine network in the country to use this cutting edge technology,” said Joe Marshall, manager of Copper Queen Community Hospital’s diagnostic imaging department who also serves as the hospital’s new teletrauma coordinator.
Hailed as a major milestone for medically underserved areas, a UMC trauma outreach team completed equipment installation on Wednesday, a system capable of linking video cameras and audio transmission with UMC’s Trauma Telemedicine program. The installation was followed by several hours of training at Copper Queen hospital and UMC.
“This system allows us to send images electronically so that doctors at UMC can see the patient immediately,” said Jim Dickson, chief executive officer of Bisbee hospital. “The minute we saw this technology, we jumped on it. I see it as a resolution for physician shortages in rural areas.”
The visual images and real-time data give consulting trauma physicians pertinent clinical information they need to guide emergency room staff, allowing more complete patient stabilization, especially critical when patients must be transferred. “The program provides clinical data on both sides of the system,” Dickson said.
Vitals are sent electronically in real-time. The camera can be controlled on either end, allowing doctors to examine all areas on the patient and provide consultation. Images are calibrated to give exact measurements, and areas of concern can be magnified for easier viewing.
“The patient benefits from the doctor’s immediate consultation rather than having to wait for transport and then be evaluated at UMC,” said Michelle Ziemba, UMC’s trauma program director.
The use of a visual image gives the consulting physician a more efficient way to assess the patient, saving valuable time, she added.
While Copper Queen Community Hospital is the first medical facility in Arizona to implement the teletrauma equipment, eight other Southern Arizona hospitals will soon follow.
Made possible by a Blue Cross and Blue Shield grant of $285,000, medical professionals believe the program is a huge step in expanding rural healthcare in Southern Arizona.
Vermont is credited with installing the nation’s first teletrauma system.
Before telemedicine sites can be connected, T1 lines must be in place. Dixon and other hospital CEOs are looking at a $12 million grant to help fund the project, which would bring the necessary broadband infrastructure upgrades to medical facilities throughout Cochise County. “It’s a dedicated, secured line, with no breeches,” Dixon said. “People always have questions about security issues.”
Telemedicine is used in a wide range of specialty fields, said Dan Judkins, who is the teletrauma educator for UMC.
“Some of the applications include ophthalmology, wound care, radiology and dermatology,” he said.
Another growing use for telemedicine is home healthcare, a technology that Copper Queen Community Hospital will be bringing in on Friday. In that application, patients who need regular monitoring may elect to have a unit installed in their home, allowing them to report to a medical team.
Judkins started his career in Bisbee as a student nurse in 1975. He moved to Tucson, where he was in charge of the trauma program at UMC for 17 years.
In his new role as UMC’s program educator, Judkins is the liaison person between UMC and rural medical facilities. “It’s only natural that I would be involved with telemedicine,” he said.
“This technology is a big change for everyone. All doctors and ER nursing staff will need to be trained on this. It’s a new, more efficient way to provide quality healthcare even in the state’s most rural areas.
Other communities with hospitals that will be installing the teletrauma equipment include Sierra Vista, Benson, Willcox, Douglas, Nogales, Sells, White River and Safford. Sierra Vista Regional Health Center will be the next hospital to acquire the system, with installation happening in March.
Copper Queen Community Hospital’s teletrauma equipment, designed by Vitel Net, links Bisbee with University Medical Center’s trauma team in Tucson. Benefits to the patient include:
- Doctors are provided with live two-way audio and video transmission, allowing immediate consultation on the patient prior to transporting to the trauma surgeon.
- Telemedicine allows a more complete patient stabilization transfer and provides more patient clinical data on both sides.
- It allows the trauma system to better manage patient flow, especially important with the loss of Tucson Medical Center’s trauma unit.
- It allows UMC’s trauma team to make an assessment with the help of the emergency staff in Bisbee, giving the patient care at the appropriate level and site.
- Follow-up appointments will typically be managed in Bisbee, under a UMC doctor’s supervision, instead of traveling all the way to Tucson. Trauma patients often have wounds, and telemedicine provides an objective tool for monitoring wound care.
Herald/Review reporter Dana Cole can be reached at 515-4618 or by e-mail at dana.cole@svherald.com.
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