Slide Presentation from the AHRQ 2007 Annual Conference

A Solution: Health-e-Access

• Child care site - child with health problem, telehealth assistant
• Remote clinician site - physician or nurse practitioner
• Telehealth technology - broadband communications link, computer-driven digital sensors

Notes:

Moving on to Health-e-Access -- our solution to the problem that no one has time to be sick ...

At child care site, there's a child with health problem and a telehealth assistant. The telehealth assistant is childcare staff, who may—or may not—have any prior healthcare experience. We train these folks in about 16 hours to collaborate with telemed clinicians.

At the remote clinician site is a physician or nurse practitioner. Most clinicians don't seem to want more than 30 min of training (if that).

The telemed technology includes a broadband communications link, computer-driven digital sensors, and a software package that integrates all the components.

The HeA model uses both real-time videoconference and store-and-forward information exchange. Telehealth assistants capture ear, eye, mouth, throat and skin images with an all-purpose camera. Lung sounds are captured with an electronic stethoscope.