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Telemedicine a boon to remote Alaska health care delivery

by Thomas Dworetzky, Contributing Reporter | September 22, 2016
Health IT
Injured commercial fisherman working out of Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island in the remote wilds of Alaska have one clinic to go to – and it had been too distant for conventional telemedicine technology.

These perils have been made famous on Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch".

While the risks remain, treatment for injuries will be improving, thanks to a novel approach using satellite transmission instead of the standard fiber-optic cable to connect the remote clinic there to an Anchorage hospital 800 miles away — the latest advance in telemedicine. In that way, emergency doctors can share their expertise with clinic health care providers in real time to better address the needs of injured patients.
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Before the satellite workaround such remote help wasn't possible; the island does not connect to Anchorage via cable.

"We are kind of mix-mashing everything together to try to make this work," Sharon Compton, services manager of the hospital's eICU office, told the Associated Press.

The Iliuliuk Family and Health Services clinic is the latest of nine health care facilities connected to the Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.

The setup allows for cameras to beam images in real time between hospital and clinic. This lets clinic workers better manage and stabilize patients for triage and transport by letting remote doctors weigh in on X-rays and patient charts.

Tiny Unalaska has a year-round population of 4,600 that climbs to 16,000 in fishing seasons — a surge that stresses the clinic's capacity. The telemedicine capability could “be a game changer for recruiting, retention and for the care of the patients," clinic medical director, Ann Nora Ehret, an osteopathic doctor, told the news service. "We are getting the support we need in an austere environment."

This is the latest in telemedicine efforts at Providence. In 2009, it began its program in remote stroke-care assessments called Telestroke. This let neurologists diagnose and recommend treatments for patients in rural and remote areas, according to the hospital's website.

Remote telemedicine was also in the news elsewhere, highlighted by a just announced $6.8 million Indian Health Service contract to Avera Health for telemedicine services in all 19 Great Plains Area service units, according to ABC's KSWO News. The contract will cover service to about 130,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives.

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