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Archives Lifestyles Kentucky TeleCare provides patients quick care without travel International Summit to expand UK's world view, involvements Kentucky TeleCare provides patients quick care without travel When rural patients visit their doctor at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center, they don't always have to come to Lexington. Photo/UKMCPR Kentucky TeleCare, a program begun in 1993, allows patients to be seen by UK Chandler Medical Center clinicians from their local health care facility, and sometimes from their homes, through telemedicine. Telemedicine uses two-way interactive video to connect health care providers and patients in rural areas to medical specialists at secondary centers and tertiary care centers such as the UK Chandler Medical Center. Instead, Kentucky TeleCare, a program begun in 1993, allows patients to be seen by UK Chandler Medical Center clinicians from their local health care facility, and sometimes from their homes, through telemedicine. Telemedicine uses two-way interactive video to connect health care providers and patients in rural areas to medical specialists at secondary centers and tertiary care centers such as the UK Chandler Medical Center. "Everyone benefits from this program," said Rob Sprang, director of Kentucky TeleCare. "The patients have rapid access to tertiary center resources while remaining close to home, the rural clinicians have access to specialty consults on a real-time basis while directly managing the care of their patients, and existing referral patterns are strengthened and new referral patterns are developed for clinicians at the UK Chandler Medical Center." The cost benefits of telemedicine include fewer transfers to tertiary care centers and reduced travel expenses for patients and government programs such as Medicaid. "It is also one of the most important opportunities we have at the UK Chandler Medical Center to develop stronger relationships with other physicians and institutions," said Robert Schosser, associate professor of the Department of Internal Medicine, chief of the division of dermatology and medical director of Kentucky TeleCare at the UK Chandler Medical Center. Peter Bosomworth, chancellor emeritus of the UK Chandler Medical Center and professor of anesthesiology and health care administration, started the project that would become Kentucky TeleCare with a $213,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission in 1993. With this grant, St. Claire Medical Center in Morehead and Appalachian Regional hospitals in Hazard and Harlan were linked to the UK Chandler Medical Center. Several other sites now have been connected, including clinics at elementary and high schools. Kentucky TeleCare also is beginning to use equipment that can be set up at a patient's own home. Following the program started at UK, the Appalachian Regional Healthcare and St. Claire TeleCare networks have been formed. A fourth Kentucky telemedicine program, the Bluegrass Mental Health Network, also has been created to link community-based mental health facilities and the Eastern State Hospital. Because of the systems' design, any site that is a member of one of the networks can be connected to each of the four networks' sites, allowing for collaborations between the networks. Current active telemedicine clinics at UK include dermatology, oncology, infectious disease, adult and child psychiatry, emergency/trauma, pediatric cardiology, pre-op anesthesiology, student health services and post-surgical follow-up. The uses of Kentucky TeleCare are not limited to seeing patients. The network also is used for educational and administrative programs, such as grand rounds presentations, faculty meetings and problem-based learning courses for medical students. "This is one of the best programs of its kind in the country," Schosser said. "The limitations of the program are dictated only by the limits of the mind and of the willingness to communicate and interact." - Maureen McArthur International Summit to expand UK's world view, involvements The UK International Summit is the first step in developing a plan for enhancing the University's participation in international projects, said Thomas Leinbach, a professor in the Department of Geography and acting director of the Office of International Affairs. The summit will be held May 15. Developing a greater international involvement will meet the University's strategic plan and help UK attain top-20 status in the realm of research universities, Leinbach said. "The overall objective of the workshop will be to learn how we might enhance, focus and further develop the University's engagement in international activities in service to achieving of our institution's aspirations and strategic plan," he said. "We want international perspectives and activities to serve the education of all students and to better integrate the processes of teaching, research and service. We want to examine how we organize and support international affairs now in relation to changes that may be in order for us to achieve new levels of activity. Above all else, we want the summit to yield a draft statement of vision, mission, values and goals for UK's international engagement." The summit will feature two guest speakers - Michael McNulty, associate provost for international affairs at the University of Iowa, and Brian Winchester, director of the Center for the Study of Global Change at Indiana University. Both are innovators in the development of international programs, Leinbach said. In addition, UK Lexington Campus Chancellor Elisabeth Zinser will place the summit in an institutional, state and national context, and Chandler Medical Center Chancellor James Holsinger will lend a medical framework to the proceedings. A professional facilitator, Lyle Hanna of William Mercer Inc., Louisville, will use "breakout groups" to help participants explore and prioritize strategies the University may want to take to enhance its international dimensions. Hanna has worked with a summit-planning group since December. The summit workshop is limited to about 50 UK faculty and administrators. There will be opportunities for broader participation in the development of an international plan, Leinbach said. - George Lewis