Telemedicine - Treating Patients through Video Conferences
By: Harold German
Natural disasters, like the Tsunami that ripped apart the lives of millions living along the coasts of the Indian Ocean in December of 2004, are a true human tragedy but a harsh fixture of our reality on this planet. Such tragedies incite human interest and outreach from all regions of the world, and supportive entities, such as the media and charitable organizations, can always be counted on to address the ensuing demand. While there is rarely ever a shortage of stories focused on the horrors of these types of events, few focus on how people find innovative ways to manage through these ordeals.
Brian Levin's constant brushes with nature are unlike most, and his coping method is uncannily brilliant. Mr. Levin is the coordinator of Telepsychiatry Services of Marlton, NJ-based CFG Health Systems, LLC, a behavioral healthcare service provider focused on the delivery of quality mental health services. He and his staff manage by using a revolutionary technology known as Telemedicine, which allows medical practitioners to disseminate medical information from one site to another using video conferencing for the health and education of patients, regardless of location. His latest encounter with Mother Nature came in the form of the northeastern blizzard of January 23rd, 2005. The treacherous blizzard was blamed for no less than twenty deaths, and incapacitated all airports and mass transit terminals in the North East Mr. Levin's "Telepsychiatry" is a growing methodology generated directly from the tremendous impact and success that Telemedicine has had with medical institutions.
"The most recent snow blizzard caused a local State of Emergency, and our patients' critical treatment would have been delayed if it wasn't for Telepsychiatry. We use Telepsychiatry seven days a week, 365 days a year, and regardless of external conditions we are able to provide our patients with the vital care that they need," said Mr. Levin. "Prior to CFG bringing Telepsychiatry to our screening center in Cumberland county, there was no after-hours, face-to-face psychiatric coverage, which is mandatory for a psychiatric commitment. It's a rural and underserved county, and if roads were blocked due to a storm, any patient needing care after hours would be held over until the next morning when the next psychiatrist would come on duty. This meant that patients and their family members had to wait a possible twelve to fourteen hours for medical attention. Fortunately for us, those days are over."
CFG's revolutionary Telepsychiatry system has been operational since 1999 and Mr. Levin been an integral part of its success. "When I came here in July of 2000, CFG had one video conferencing unit in our Marlton, NJ office and another at the Psychiatric Screening program of the Cumberland County Guidance Center at Bridgeton Hospital. Both were from Tandberg's 800 series," said Mr. Levin. The primary driving force for CFG's utilization of this technology was the need to provide quality psychiatric care in a timely manner to under-served areas that would otherwise go without face-to-face psychiatric evaluations, regardless of environmental conditions.
"My position was created to help develop the Telepsychiatry technology at CFG. My first order of business was to install the telecommunication lines in each of our psychiatrists' homes; those who would be part of the overnight coverage. There were a total of five at the time and we used ISDN for the connections. It was quite clear to us at the time that there would be no increase in funding for our program so we needed to be creative in planning the system."
Demand for this type of technology from the health care sector is soaring and equipment manufactures such as Polycom, and TANDBERG, and service providers such as IVCi, are positioning themselves to better serve these new markets.
CFG has been successfully relying on Telepsychiatry for several years and has received industry awards for their pioneering approach to long distance health care. Over the years, the technology, and CFG's approach to it, has evolved. "The cost is probably the most dramatic difference," said Levin. "The technology is also much more dependable and the picture and sound are markedly better. Ultimately, we've learned that patients are best served by getting real-time care when they need it, regardless of time, place or weather conditions."
About The Author:
A director at IVCi (http://www.ivci.com), whose divisions include IVCi Audio Visual (http://audiovisual.ivci.com) and HomeVision (http://www.ivcihomevision.com), Mr. German is a renowned author and contributor, with appearances in noted international publications such as The Economist, and on news stations such as CNN.