Two new telemedicine pilot projects in Hawaii this year will connect trauma patients with specialists at the Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, the Honolulu Advertiser reports.
One of the projects, which is funded by a $727,000 grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, will focus on neurological injuries, such as strokes and brain damage from traumas. The system, when it becomes operational in March, will connect hospitals using wireless cameras and the Internet. The system will allow neurologists to see patients, communicate with other physicians and determine if patients need to be transported to Queen's Medical Center.
The other project, which is funded by a $481,000 Department of Energy grant, will allow Honolulu trauma surgeons to check the status of patients with major injuries before they are flown from North Hawaii Hospital to Oahu. The system, which will be available later this year, will allow Honolulu physicians to view X-rays and CT scans, and it will be available as a teaching tool at the John Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii.
"This telemedicine project will enable the Queen's trauma team to immediately assess patients brought to North Hawaii Community Hospital in that first 'golden hour' of care," said Queen's trauma medical director Dr. Hao Chih Ho (TenBruggencate, Honolulu Advertiser, 1/28.)
Other Hawaii Telemedicine Systems
Most of the telemedicine systems in Hawaii focus on care for children and pregnant women, but now other specialty systems are being adopted, the Honolulu Advertiser reports.
Ten medical centers on five islands in 1998 launched telemedicine systems that allowed a specialist at Kapi'olani Fetal Diagnostic Center to view adult patients and the results of a fetal ultrasound being performed on the patient in real-time.
More recent telemedicine systems include connections between hospital specialists for endoscopic surgery procedures and telepsychiatry capabilities between Kahi Mohala, Hilo Medical Center and Maui Community Mental Health Center. A direct video link also has been established between Tripler Army Medical Center and a medical center in Guam to create an electronic intensive care unit that allows video and voice communications between the two facilities.
Jana Lindsey, telemedicine chief for Shriners Hospital, said one of Hawaii's goals is to establish a statewide, unified system based on the broadband capabilities of Internet2 -- a fast computer network based on fiber optic cables. The state also is looking to apply for a Federal Communications Commission rural health care grant to cover up to 85% of the cost of the networks.
However, Dale Moyen, telehealth manager at Hawaii Pacific Health, noted, "We have been operating telemedicine since 2003 without grants. It is part of our standard clinical services" (TenBruggencate, Honolulu Advertiser, 1/28).