Stanislaus County Health Services Agency and the Hughson Medical Office demonstrated, for the media, community leaders and the area physicians, the state of the art telemedicine technology the center will use to improve rural residents' access to specialty care. The demonstration included 12 year old Hughson resident, Billy Bates, and his primary care physician, Dr. David Narita. They consulted face-to-face via computer technology with Dr. Tom Nesbitt, the assistant dean of the Regional Outreach and Telehealth at U.C. Davis Health System in Sacramento for a follow-up ear infection.

It was determined that young Billy would have to undergo a more thorough ear exam to check if there is any loss of hearing. The entire checkup lasted about fifteen minutes, with the majority of the time, Dr. Narita was explaining the press how the system worked. If the grandparents of Billy, Bill and Carol Wright, would have gone to U.C. Davis for the exam, they would have had to take the day off of work, drive three hours to the University (if there were any appointments available that day), find a parking spot, find the doctor's office then have the doctor come to the same conclusion.

The program comes to Hughson thanks to a $1.8 million Rural Health Demonstration Project grant that Blue Cross received last October. The grant came from the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board as a part of the Healthy Families Program, the state sponsored insurance program offering low-cost health, dental, and vision coverage to children of low-income working families.

The telemedicine program will use computer technology and Blue Cross' network to help physicians expand access to quality healthcare and erode the barriers of distance, time, cost and language that have prevented people in medically underserved rural areas from receiving state of the art diagnosis and treatment. Using the funds from the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board grant, Blue Cross of California will open 21 new telemedicine sites in 19 counties across the state.

According to John Monahan, general manager, State Sponsored Programs, Blue Cross of California, the telemedicine demonstration program exemplifies Blue Cross of California's goal to be on the cutting edge of delivering quality health care. "We believe this is the first program that brings together the state, technology, the medical community, patients, and health plans to utilize telemedicine to its fullest capabilities. We hope this project will substantiate the need for similar programs throughout the nation."

Each new telemedicine site will be provided with computer hardware; software; high-speed data lines; and medical instrumentation, including a general exam camera, and an ENT (ear, nose and throat) scope. Four sites will have dermascopes. Blue Cross will provide training and support to physicians and their staffs, reimburse both the primary care provider and specialist for consultation, and strongly encourage utilization by physicians and eligible members. Access to the telemedicine services is open to all of the clinic's patients. Presently, with exception to Hughson, the nearest telemedicine site is in Tuolumne County, Fresno County and Madera County. So with the addition to Stanislaus County, Blue Cross has made a very substantial effort to relieve the families of waiting weeks and possibly months for an appointment.

There was a story that was told at the unveiling Wednesday - a mother and father noticed a weird skin condition on their daughter's arm and became worried over what it might be. The parents called the nearest hospital, when, to their dismay, they found out that the soonest they could get their daughter in to see a dermatologist was in 13 months! Imagine that, a son or daughter had a frightening skin condition and you couldn't get to a specialist until a year from now. Well that's where the Blue Cross came in. The family went to their local Blue Cross provider and was instantly connected with a specialist hundreds of miles away. The specialist showed numerous articles on the exact condition that the little girl had. It turned out that the skin condition was completely normal and it should go away in a matter of weeks. No surgery, no lifelong scar - just the thought that their little girl was okay. That is what the Blue Cross is committed to do. Ease the anxiety of having to wait to see a specialist and diagnose the problem immediately.

The two most common types of telemedicine include live teleconsultation and store and forward.

Live teleconsultation consists of the patient and their physician "meeting" with a specialty physician, via computer and special medical instruments. This allows the specialty physician to see the patient and primary care provider to discuss the patient's medical condition.

Store and forward is where the primary care provider uses the computer and the special medical instruments to take pictures of the patient's medical condition and gather data that are stored in the computer, encrypted, and then sent electronically to the specialty physician. With this electronic package of images and data on a patient's medical condition, the specialty physician can review the information and recommend treatment.

The benefits of telemedicine are that it helps physicians overcome barriers that typically prevent people from receiving specialty care.

The Hughson Medical Office is located near the Hughson Public Library on 3rd Street.

Used by permission of the Hughson Chronicle.