Telehealth Solution Connects Patients In Rural Nebraska To Quality Care

For patients in rural communities, geographic isolation can provide a significant barrier to receiving quality, timely care. Geographic barriers to care are especially critical for patients with kidney disease, who often need dialysis treatment at least three times per week to remove fluid and filter impurities from the bloodstream. The problem is especially serious in Nebraska, which is among the most sparsely populated states, with a population density of just 23 people per square mile. Many people live on remote farms that may be 50 miles from even a small town and even further from a hospital or health clinic.

To address this challenge, the Dialysis Center of Lincoln (DCL), in Lincoln, Nebraska, turned to Metro for help with developing a customized, state-of-the-art telehealth solution. On a typical day, doctors and nurse practitioners at the Lincoln facility are able to examine dozens of patients during dialysis treatment. While accessing the patient’s electronic medical record (EMR), they carefully check the patient’s skin color, the point of access for the dialysis equipment, and other health conditions related to the patient’s kidney disease.

It sounds routine – except that many of the patients are 80 miles north, at DCL’s Columbus facility, or 45 miles south at its Beatrice clinic. The visual exams and documentation are completed using DCL’s state-of-the-art telehealth system supported by Metro’s Flo Series mobile computing workstations equipped with videoconferencing systems.

For its caregivers, as well as hundreds of patients that use the Columbus and Beatrice facilities, the telehealth system has eliminated distance and travel time as a barrier to quality care, resulting in increased doctor visits and overall better care.