Asthma Patients Right at Home with Telemedicine Technology
by Christine Deriso
Dr. Carol Meyer needn’t go to the circus to see clowns. The pediatric asthma patients she treats via telemedicine are the ultimate cut-ups.
Dr. Meyer, assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia, spends two days every other month in Waycross, Ga., treating approximately 400 children with asthma and immune deficiencies. But whereas the children once had to travel to MCG, some 200 miles from home, for the rest of their appointments, they now merely have to visit their local public health clinic while Dr. Meyer examines them, from Augusta, via telemedicine. The technology never fails to turn the children into full-fledged hams.
"They love it," Dr. Meyer said. "They clown in front of the camera because they can see themselves. They can even see up their own ear drums and tonsils."
Half a day each week, Dr. Meyer takes histories, measures lung function, reviews medications and provides follow-up examinations on their Waycross-area patients via telemedicine, assisted by a respiratory therapy in Waycross. The service has been a huge success, Dr. Meyer said, and not just because the kids love clowning in front of a television screen.
"After our first full year of providing this service, there was a marked drop in emergency visits and hospitalizations of pediatric asthma patients in the area," Dr. Meyer said. "It looks like we’re getting tighter control."
Frequent contact is particularly important when treating a chronic disease like asthma, she noted. Asthma causes about 5,000 U.S. deaths annually, and tight control is vital. For instance, teens may need continual reminders about the importance of taking their medications regularly. "Many people get very used to living with substandard pulmonary function," Dr. Meyer said. "We point out how the lungs function and remind patients that asthma may not be reversible if it isn’t treated effectively, which includes taking medications regularly."
The visits also enable the MCG staff to touch base regularly with the patients’ families and primary care providers, fostering a team approach to maximizing children’s health. Angie Jacobs, a registered nurse who specializes in pediatric pulmonology, serves as the liaison between MCG and the patients.
"Waycross has very good pediatricians, but the area has been under-served for years as far as subspecialty is concerned," Dr. Meyer said. "The telemedicine program has given us a chance to keep a better rein and do better follow-up. Telemedicine fit very well into what we were already doing. We can do everything over telemedicine that we can do in person."
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Medical College of Georgia Telemedicine Center