Telemedicine Program Helps Avoid High Costs Of Transportation While Building Trust

By Karla Paris

Quality and convenience for patients at the center of telemedicine effort for UNM hospitals

Earlier this year, The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center announced it was in line to receive a $15.1 million, three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to test the expansion of its existing telemedicine network for stroke and brain injury patients. The project is in conjunction with a private Albuquerque telemedicine firm, Net Medical Xpress Solutions.

More recently, UNM announced its pediatric emergency doctors will be treating sick children across the state, thanks to another new telemedicine program that allows them to consult with patients via video conferencing technology. In addition to doctors, patients will have access to other UNM medical experts, and UNM nurses specializing in pediatric emergency medicine will now have the ability to participate in video consultations.

The telemedicine initiative is a component of Child Ready, a program supported by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) that aims to address gaps in pediatric emergency care across New Mexico, especially in rural parts of the state.

The system allows UNM doctors to see patients remotely through the use of inexpensive cameras and video screens and is expected to save UNM millions of dollars in the unnecessary transport of patients from rural hospitals to UNMH.

Ailing children are already getting treatment via video at two hospitals – UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center in Rio Rancho and Clayton's Union County General Hospital. Over the next few months, video healthcare will expand to hospitals in Zuni, Truth or Consequences, Artesia, and other New Mexico communities.

The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is the largest academic health complex in the state. Located on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque, the HSC combines its four mission areas – education, research, patient care, and community outreach – to provide New Mexicans with the highest level of health care.

UNM Hospitals include:

• UNM Hospital
• UNM Carrie Tingley Hospital
• UNM Chidlren’s Hospital
• UNM Children’s Psychiatric Center
• UNM Psychiatric Center
• UNM Cancer Center

UNM and Net Medical Xpress have a telemedicine network of 11 hospitals and will look to expand it to 30 hospitals statewide.

SOURCE: UNM Health Sciences Center