Two of the most quickly advancing technologies of our time. A major benefit of telemedicine is that it can reduce the number of patients that need to be medevac'ed. Telemedicine allows off-island doctors to review the patient's case and recommend treatments. According to LTJG Ricky White, MSC, the hospital's chief information officer, other telemedicine initiatives are underway. We've also installed a scanner in the x-ray room of the hospital.
Doctors can obtain access to an x-ray from their home computer, if necessary.
If a doctor gets called in the middle of the night to give a second opinion or diagnosis of an x-ray, they can pull it up on their home computer within minutes. Before, it would take as long as 30 to 40 minutes for the doctor to come to the hospital. White said that the hospital is also working on getting teleconferencing capabilities in the operating room. According to Cairnes, this could make the difference between life and death. Unfortunately, we don't have a neurosurgeon here.