Care providers at Georgia’s school clinics are able to remotely access student health information form pediatricians and other providers to deliver better onsite care now that Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth (GPT) www.gatelehealth.org has joined the Georgia Health Information Network (GaHIN) www.gahin.org. The GaHIN is the HIE for the state and GPT is a charitable nonprofit that is promoting telemedicine programs in communities throughout Georgia.
Now that GPT’s connection with GaHIN is live, participating school systems will be able to exchange information with more than 3,600 Georgia healthcare providers including Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the state’s largest pediatric healthcare system. GaHIN also provides access to the state’s immunization registry as well connecting to providers in South Carolina.
GPT has established telemedicine programs at 60 rural school systems in the state. Also, Azalea Health www.azaleahealth.com, a provider of cloud-based healthcare solutions and services, recently donated EHR software, services, and training to rural K-12 school clinics in Coffee County Georgia where the GaHIN pilot is taking place at 12 schools.
School nurses are able to use medical devices equipped with cameras to share data and images with providers, who can then view the information on a computer screen at their offices. Written parental consent is required prior to students participating in the program.