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MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Gritman Medical Center invited the public Wednesday evening to see a demonstration of its latest health care tool, a telemedicine device that allows off-site physicians to evaluate patients.
"I was pretty impressed," Moscow resident Dick Bull said. "We'll have the option to be treated in our own hospital instead of going out of town for treatment."
Moscow Mayor Bill Lambert kicked off his shoes, put on a hospital gown over his clothes and laid on a gurney situated in the main lobby of Gritman as he played the part of a stroke victim. Two emergency room staff members stood by his bedside.
A computer monitor on what looked like a tall pedestal was pointed at his face from near the foot of the bed.
The device then came on and allowed Denny Lordan, the telemedicine program coordinator for Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, to chat with the staff and patient to determine the most suitable treatment.
It sent vital signs and a CT scan of the patient to Lordan, who also directed and watched how Lambert complied when asked his age, the date and to smile widely (to see if one side of his mouth wasn't reacting as well as the other). They also completed a visual field test and determined if the patient's limbs had been affected by the stroke by having him lift his arms and legs in certain ways.
The two-way video viewscreen allowed Lordan to show Lambert how he wanted him to lift his arms - as if he were carrying a tray.
When it comes to care for a stroke, time is of the essence, Lordan said. Each minute a stroke victim goes untreated means the loss of 1.9 million nerve cells in their brain.
Lordan remotely operated the device, rolling from the foot of the bed to approach Lambert so their interaction could be more face to face. Its movement took people watching the demonstration a bit by surprise.
When the device turned around and rolled toward the crowd there was an even bigger reaction. The screen tilted toward what the doctor on the other end needed to see. And when people asked questions he was able to look them in the eye as if he were actually standing right in front of them.
Telemedicine includes an array of applications through the use of two-way video, like on Gritman's new device, but also email, smartphones, iPads and other forms of telecommunication.
Gritman expects it will be most useful for specialists in other locations to help patients in this area. Given its independent movement it could move around Gritman to allow access to a number of patients. The hospital's new acquisition will mean some patients won't have to travel out of town, or even out of state, to see specialists in larger cities.
Hospitals and medical practices in smaller communities have, for years, had difficulty hiring specialists because such professionals generally find lucrative employment in more highly populated areas, Lordan said.
"It's extraordinarily great that smaller towns can bring this expertise to the patient's bedside," said Troy Zakariasen, of PACT-EMS, also in Moscow.
Care of chronic diseases, such as strokes, heart disease, diabetes and cancer, is the fastest-growing area of telemedicine, he said. Providence, which has an extensive network of locations and professionals through the Northwest, owns the machine but Gritman is contracting it out.
It's also referred to as a telestroke machine. It's good timing with May approaching, Loran added, because May is Stroke Awareness Month.
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Information from: The Moscow-Pullman Daily News, http://www.dnews.com
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