Video Conferencing "telemedicine" helps remote people in need

We’ve recently spent a lot of time discussing the growth of video conferencing usage in hospitals and medical scenarios. The implementation of video conferencing and telepresence systems in the health care industry has opened up a new medium of communication between doctors and patients, and has proven to be mutually beneficial for everyone involved. Specialists can connect to patients at distant hospitals to give them support on a specific issue, or a patient may contact loved ones far away to touch base. Now, a news article out of Wisconsin explores how this “telemedicine” setup is being used to treat patients in rural areas in need of immediate care.


Reporter Pauleen Le explains how the Gundersen Lutheran hospital in La Crosse, Wisconsin is using telepresence technology to connect doctors to patients in need of immediate care who are located in remote, often rural areas. She writes that “Doctors say this new technique is cost-efficient and a great way of getting patients immediate help.”

The use of this technology to reach out to patients in need of immediate care shows another example of the profound impact that video conferencing can have on the lives of the world’s people. Sometimes, patients are in need of immediate assistance and advice to ensure that their well-being is protected. Although it’s true that remote doctors cannot administer prescription medicine or carry out complicated procedures, there’s a good possibility that through communication and quick thinking, they can buy a person some time and relieve them of pain.

Oftentimes, getting to the hospital can be the most difficult part of the entire process – especially if you’re located far away, or if you happen to lack transportation. That’s why hospitals are doing everything they can to reach out to people in need.

Hopefully, this will become common practice within the next couple of years, and we’ll see a rise in recovery rates in even the most remote of areas.


This entry was posted on Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 at 7:12 am and is filed under Unified Communications.
http://www.whygo.net/wordpress/video-conferencing-telemedicine-helps-remote-people-in-need/unified-communications/12/22/2011/