Telepediatrics - Child Sexual Abuse

Mission
The Indian Health Service has developed a telemedicine program by which to identify victims of child sexual abuse in remote locations. The child sexual abuse program at Fort Duchense utilizes a colposcope attached to a 35mm camera to transmit images from remote, rural locations. A family nurse practitioner is trained through three "mini-residencies" in the evaluation of physical/sexual abuse of children with Dr. Astrid Heger at the Center for the Vulnerable Child at Los Angeles/University of Southern California, Dr. Helen Britton of the Child Protection Team at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, and Dr. Leah Lamb at Cooks Medical Center, Fort Worth, Texas.

Since 1995, the program has been able to save the service unit $100,000 by eliminating a 300-mile round trip to Salt Lake City for photo reviews. The unit now scans 35mm colposcopic photographs into a personal computer through a color scanner, and the images are sent by modem over a regular phone line. The photos can be reviewed interactively, either immediately or at a later date.

The Fort Duchess program is recognized nationally. As such an interagency agreement with the Department of Justice Office of Crime Victims and the IHS has been arranged to fund similar programs at other sites. DOJ funds will be used to purchase $119,910 in equipment (colposcopes, cameras and accessories) for 18 doctors in fourteen service units. Didactic classroom and computer training and travel funds for training and follow-on preceptorships at the University of Southern California is also funded. The Fort Duchense child sexual abuse program will be replicated in 14 IHS/tribal units with funding provided under an interagency agreement between HIS and the Department of Justice. 

Previous - Home - Next