According to a new report, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) www.uams.edu has successfully used technology to connect to facilities in many communities in every corner in Arkansas.
The report titled, “Arkansas State Broadband Managers Report” (period ending June 30, 2015) was required to be submitted to the Arkansas Governor’s office, Legislative Council, and the State Joint Committee on Advanced Communications and Information Technology. The report describes how connected health and/or telehealth activities at UAMS are currently progressing.
The UAMS Center for Distance Health and Arkansas e-Link Network http://arkansaselink.com are working with many facilities in the state. Since the completion of the BTOP grant, the Center has been working with each eligible site to sign them up for broadband financial assistance through the FCC Health Care Connect Fund www.fcc.gov.
The e-Link Network and UAMS are currently beta testing a new line of products that will use iPhones or android devices to offer face-to-face communication available from a web-based platform while remaining HIPAA compliant. The anticipated launch of the new line of products is fall 2015.
Currently, there are 16 member sites that participate in the e-Link Network. Since December 1, 2014, 28 new sites have been added to the network bringing the total to 439. From December 1, 2014 to May 1, 2015, the e-Link Network has facilitated over 75,000 hours of video calls with over 98,000 individual calls being placed on the network for clinical and educational activities.
On May 2014, the UAMS ANGELS http://angels.uams.edu program began monitoring women participating in a mHealth Postpartum Monitoring study. During pregnancy, these women were diagnosed as having pre-eclampsia.
Five sets of mHealth equipment were purchased and nurses were trained at the ANGELS Call Center to monitor incoming patient data to determine who had pre-eclampsia. Ten postpartum women completed the two week pilot monitoring period in 2014 and since December 2014, 28 patient encounters have taken place with 26 patients completing the program.
Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) www.archildrens.org has been using telemedicine for several years as part of the ANGELS network. Plans are to expand current programs and start new programs in the future. One project is to open a school-based telehealth clinic in the Little Rock School District with plans to replicate telehealth clinics at other area schools. In addition they are planning to include behavioral health.
UAMS has also created a statewide system to support patients with sickle cell diseases and help the physicians who care for them. The Sickle Cell Call Center http://sicklecell.uams.edu/health-care-professionas/247-call-center from December 2014 to April 2015, received 129 calls resulting in 212 scheduled appointments.
In addition, the Center has held 18 education events with 875 education encounters, enabled 539 social worker interactions and 232 infusions were conducted. Beginning FY 2016, plans are to add telemedicine consults with patients and physicians.
Another program serving rural residents, the HIV Rural Telemedicine Program in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Health, is working with UAMS infectious diseases specialists to help local health units in rural locations better manage and treat HIV patients.
In the past four years, hundreds of patients have received telemedicine consultations on how to manage HIV/AIDS. Practitioners and patients have access and support via telephone and video conferencing. In addition, HIV/AIDS telehealth-based education is provided to rural providers through the HIV Heart, Education, Assessment, Research, Telehealth program.
Go to www.stc.arkansas.gov/Documents/Broadband%20Manager’s%20Activities-Operations%20Report.pdf to view the complete report.