Health IT

Telemedicine boosts care teams, veteran doc tells USA Today

A lot is happening in telemedicine right now, as USA Today readers found out Wednesday.

 

A lot is happening in telemedicine right now, as USA Today readers found out Wednesday.

While Teladoc fights the recent Texas Medical Board decision restricting the practice of telemedicine (and also prepares to go public), the ERISA Industry Committee, representing large employers, is lobbying to expand telehealth. “The goal is to convince state legislatures that telemedicine is needed to keep healthcare costs down and that state laws need to be more consistent in what they allow,” USA Today reported.

The paper also interviewed a veteran practitioner, Dr. Andrew Barbash, a neurologist who provides remote consultations for Specialists on Call, particularly in the area of stroke care.

Telemedicine physicians are “working in an online model,” Barbash said in a video posted on USA Today’s website. “That person, that expert who is doing this is partnering with people on site,” he explained.

“I am partnering with a nurse or a nurse practitioner or physician assistant. That person on the other end is getting more educated. They’re enhancing their experience. They’re increasing their comfort level around doing basic assessments,” said Barbash, who previously ran the neurosciences and stroke program at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Md.

“Telemedicine has actually led to a whole army of nurses around the world who actually know how to assess a stroke patient. There are families who now know how to assess their relatives because of all the public education programs,” Barbash continued. “They don’t really need me on site to do the stroke exam. I’m sorry.”

Being remote also allows him to view imaging such as CAT scans while also messaging colleagues for advice, said Barbash, who does his work front of three computer monitors. “I’m actually researching, learning, bringing expertise to bear because I’m in an online model.”

Photo: YouTube user SpecialistsOnCall

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