Home Telecom aids in Psychiatric Evaluation Technology Advancement

$18 million dollars in Medicaid savings and over 80% reduction in per patient, per day costs ($2,500 to $400) is the windfall realized by the Palmetto State Providers Network (PSPN) due to the implementation of a statewide network that facilitates telemedicine to rural areas, according to a recent report issued from the Federal Communications Commission. PSPN is one of only 50 active programs that are part of the FCC's Rural Health Care Pilot, which is about identifying ways to use the communications infrastructure to improve the quality of health care for rural Americans.
Roper Hospital Berkeley of Moncks Corner, South Carolina provides an example of the benefits of telemedicine to improve quality and reduce costs of health care, particularly in rural areas. In the above interview, Brenda Myers, head administrator for Roper Hospital Berkeley and Susan Schiller, R.N., explain how the implementation of a pilot tele-psychiatry program has sped diagnosis, reduced overnight stays and decreased costs.
Like many rural health-care facilities, Roper Hospital Berkeley does not have a staff psychiatrist. Using a combination of high definition cameras, large monitors and symmetrical broadband, tele-psychiatry allows Roper Hospital Berkeley to call on psychiatrists located virtually anywhere at any time.
Prior to tele-psychiatry, the time to diagnose a patient would be dependent upon the availability of an out-of-area psychiatrist. As Myers suggests tele-psychiatry speeds diagnoses and helps patients recover sooner; "We have gone from having to keep someone here from a couple of weeks down to a few hours. We rarely keep people anybody overnight anymore." The average stay has been reduced from 36 to 4 hours at a cost of $2,500 per hour. Savings include the direct costs of hospitalization, as well as some that are not so obvious, such as the costs of security for patients who pose a risk of danger.
The quality of the high definition video/audio in concert with the low latency, high speed broadband connection breaks down the physical barrier between patient and doctor, allowing the doctor to see non-verbal cues. Schiller explains that, "It's like they are sitting in the room with the psychiatrist." The psychiatrist provides a diagnosis and advises treatment based on the private patience consult.
Myers explains how local leadership was pivotal in ensuring that the community of Moncks Corner was able to participate in this pilot program, "It has been wonderful to have the community support this." She describes that it took a collaborate effort to connect their community to the larger universe of mental health caregivers.
Home Telecom's president and COO, Will Helmly, who is a member of the Roper Hospital Berkeley Advisory Council, understood the pilot program opportunity early on and his company, with its local broadband network and with its relationship to PalmettoNet and its statewide network, was able to bring the broadband expertise to enable tele-psychiatry at Roper Hospital Berkeley facility. From start to finish, it only took three months to implement the program.
The Roper Health-St. Francis example demonstrates how broadband combined with the latest in medical technology not only reduces costs, but, as Myer puts it, "Helps the quality of life for our patients in their community."
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