The Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC), in Germany, is the largest American hospital outside of the U.S, and operates within the Europe Regional Medical Command (ERMC) http://ermc.amedd.army.mil. The Army’s February 2015 Mercury Publication has an article describing LRMC’s http://ermc.amedd.army.mil/landstudhl telehealth program.
LRMC established their telehealth program office in 2014 as part of the Defense Health Agency’s www.tricare.mil/dha desire to seamlessly integrate telehealth into routine patient care by the year 2020. Using telehealth enables LRMC medical specialists to treat patients at outlying Army health clinics in Belgium, Germany, and Italy.
Telehealth technology such as advanced electronic stethoscopes enables LRMC providers to listen in real-time to patient heart and lung sounds, use otoscopes to perform real-time ear exams, and use general exam cameras to provide dermatology quality skin exams. The objective is to help LRMC transition from traditional telehealth care and enter the tele-comprehensive specialty care era.
Robin Smith, a telehealth nurse experiencing telehealth as a patient and the mother of two children that also received care via telehealth. She said, “Receiving care from specialists at LRMC via telehealth meant that my children and I were able to stay in the U.S. healthcare system while living overseas and also reduced the number of trips we needed to make back and forth to LRMC.”
Virtual care at LRMC operating within ERMC, is delivered in part via a Polycom www.polycom.com video collaboration network. Polycom’s system provides remote consults in 24 medical specialties, enables pre-operative exams, and helps with traumatic brain injuries.
Video conferencing has proven to be essential for training in the ERMC because stakes are high and distances are great. Video conferencing is used for administrative meetings with colleagues across Europe and with colleagues at Landstuhl that rely heavily on interactive and recorded video for training.
Telemedicine can play a big part in non-emergency cases, reports Arlan Arabe, Manager of ERMC’s Video Network Center. Arabe explains, “Some surgeries require a pre-op exam which once meant a trip to Landstuhl. In the case of a soldier in Italy with a medical problem, it can take a week via medical transport to Landstuhl and generate daily expenses of more than $2,000.