Presenter
Jeffrey English, MD
Director of Clinical Research
The Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta
Host
Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth
Program Description
The goal of the Next Generation Telemedicine Webinars is to foster higher acceptance among health care providers through presentations from practitioners who have proven that telemedicine is useful by successfully integrating clinical telemedicine services into their practices. Each presentation will include the personal experience and pathway taken to telemedicine adoption as well as the hurdles and challenges associated with implementation. Patient cases and outcomes will be presented along with lessons learned along the way. Presenters will include both rural and urban providers of telehealth services.
A significant number of patients in Georgia lack access to physicians who are knowledgeable about their disease and many with disabling diseases have no means of transportation to receive the specialty care that they need. Telemedicine, the clinical application of telehealth, is improving collaboration between clinicians such as rural primary care providers and urban specialist resulting in more efficient diagnosis, treatment and care management. Telemedicine is enabling patients to receive expert care in their communities while avoiding the hardships associated with traveling to distant locations. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a prime example of a disease where the majority of specialists are in the metro Atlanta area.
The Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society are dedicated to removing all barriers to patient care and they are addressing the lack of access & distance barriers with telemedicine. The MS Center is proud to team up with Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth and an Albany area physician, Dr. Tripp Morgan, to set up the first telehealth patient presenting site for MS patients in SW GA. Dr. Jeffrey English along with the Centers other staff neurologist provide specialty care for MS patients located at the Albany facility so that these patients will not have to travel the 3+ hours (each way) to Atlanta. The MS Center of Atlanta plans to provide services at sites across Georgia and the hope is that one day every primary care physician's office and / or community hospital in Georgia will serve as a provider of telehealth services so that MS patients across the state can access distant MS specialty care in their own community.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the presentation, attendees should be familiar with:
- Understand the deficit of specialty care such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Specialist in rural areas and the effect on both patients and primary care physicians.
- Understand the theory of using telehealth in delivering more efficient diagnosis, treatment, and care management of multiple sclerosis patients.
- Interact with the provider of telemedicine consultations to multiple sclerosis patients.
When
On Demand
Original program date: Feb 5, 2014
Technology Requirements
Participants registering for programs should have access to the following technology for best viewing and participation:
- Personal computer with Macintosh or Windows with 512 MB of RAM
- Broadband internet connection such as an office LAN, DSL, or cable modem
- Phone next to personal computer (or speaker phone if multiple people are viewing)
- Computer speakers (built-in or attached)
- Latest version of Adobe Flash which can be downloaded for free at Adobe's web site
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Program Keywords
Access to Care, Specialized Care