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Telemedicine: A major step forward for NMI health care
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Posted on Apr 14 2008
The Department of Public Health says that telemedicine—the use of the Internet to consult with specialists in other places—would represent a major advancement for the CNMI’s health care delivery system.
Medical Affairs director Edward Cornette said that telemedicine is on the radar scope of the department as it will allow the “immediate evaluation of images from computerized tomography scans, machine readable information studies or any other radiographic study that needs confirmation of the findings.”
He said that telemedicine would greatly enhance the diagnostic speed in select medical cases.
“Will it reduce off island medical referrals? Yes and no,” Cornette said.
He said that telemedicine does allow for the rapid transfer of medical records to aid in patient care. Another benefit would be the use in continuing medical education for physicians, which is required for licensure and up-to-date medical practice.
Although it would ease up having to wait longer for health results and tests, “neurosurgical patients may still require off island intervention in select cases,” Cornette said.
“Essentially, telemedicine has a broad application. It’s just one of the changes for the CNMI’s health care future,” Cornette said.
