For young rural patients who suffer from disorders, like epilepsy or diabetes, that require constant specialist monitoring, receiving necessary care often means long, tiring, and frequently costly trips to providers in larger cities. However, one established West Virginia telehealth program is making it far easier for patients to connect with specialists in distant areas.
Mountaineer Doctor Television, or MDTV, headquartered at West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown, connects rural clinics throughout the state with the university’s clinicians and professors. West Virginia was a pioneer in the use of telemedicine, with the first projects in the state authorized in the early 1990s at WVU, including MDTV, which was created thanks to a 1992 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission. Today, the program has more than 40 sites throughout West Virginia, as well as one in Maryland—with more being added. “It’s becoming more prevalent,” said Chris Budig, director of development for MDTV, of telemedicine. “The West Virginia medical community has been very active since beginning to get telemedicine in the state.”
One patient who recently tried telemedicine consults for the first time was 19-year-old Bethany Martin of Martinsburg, which has a population of fewer than 15,000. Before discovering telemedicine, Martin, who suffers from a seizure disorder, would have to travel a significant distance to Morgantown for appointments with her neurologist, Dr. Maggie Jaynes. However, Martin did not have to venture away from her hometown for her most recent consultation. With videoconferencing equipment set up at a nearby clinic, a nurse assisted and operated a high-resolution camera as Dr. Jaynes examined Martin. For her part, Martin described the technology as “cool,” and Dr. Jaynes noted that it enabled clinicians to work collaboratively. “As a group, we can develop a plan for the patient,” she said. “We can pass information easily, and the primary care physician can give me good feedback because he or she is seeing the patient on a regular basis.”
The system is in some ways still being refined; for example, reimbursement issues are still being worked out with many insurance companies. But overall, doctors in West Virginia see telemedicine as an overwhelmingly positive option, pointing to the benefits that telemedicine can have for rural patients. “This is a patient service, not a doctor service,” said Budig. “It’s easier for a family practitioner to send someone to another city than setting up a schedule of telemedicine appointments. But it’s a wonderful service to families because it does not disrupt their lives so much.”
Click here for further information on telehealth in West Virginia.
