School-Based Telemedicine Platform Improves Care, Reduces Labor
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
Utilizing telemedicine allows providers to establish multiple school-based clinics supported by just one nurse practitioner.
By deploying telemedicine systems in schools, AMD Global Telemedicine is allowing providers to care for students on-site with few clinicians needed to support it. The Center for Rural Health Innovation (CRHI) used this technology to support 14 school-based programs and provide care to 4,000 students.
“I had the eye-opening experience of seeing kids coming to school who were not ready to learn because they were sick,” says Dr. Steve North, a former North Carolina teacher. “Trying to teach a kid who has his head down on his desk because he has no access to healthcare is heartbreaking.”
“Using the Telemed ED systems, we can offer live, interactive telemedicine,” explains CRHI Executive Director Amanda Martin. “It lets the provider guide the exam and ask questions – it doesn’t assume the presenter knows the questions to ask. In our state, services provided by live telemedicine are also eligible for insurance reimbursement, which helps make it financially sustainable.”
Of course the benefit to the students is incredible, but the ability to potentially provide care to thousands of students using only one nurse practitioner is an incredible advantage for providers.
“Telemedicine technology has allowed us to provide children with easy access to inexpensive healthcare services in an environment conducive to the least disruption possible for them as well as their parents,” commented Sal Saldivar, CIO at La Maestra Community Health Centers in a press release. “A single telemedicine system can be deployed seamlessly without requiring additional technical support from the school IT department, and more importantly – AMD’s telemedicine products are easy for our staff to understand and use,” added Saldivar.
School-based clinics in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia have all adopted AMD’s telemedicine platform.