The health-care connection is made using equipment in Dallas linked to satellites located where patients in the Choctaw Nation live. Patients' family members bring them to one of the four Oklahoma locations including the primary memory disorders clinic in Talihina, Broken Bow, McAlester and Hugo.
"They can see me, and I can see them," Dr. Weiner said of the teleconference linkup. "We can assess any side effects of psychotropic medications and get an estimate of disease progression."
Dr. Weiner, who holds the Aradine S. Ard Chair in Brain Science and the Dorothy L. and John P. Harbin Chair in Alzheimer's Disease Research at UT Southwestern, also conducts interviews with patients' caregivers to assess the progression of memory loss or other neurological deficits. For people suffering from dementia or other memory disorders, shortening travel time for checkups is another positive outcome of telemedicine, Dr. Weiner said.
Because of the three-hour travel time to the Choctaw Nation Health Care Center in Talihina, Okla., it had not been possible for UT Southwestern staff to see as many new patients or to follow patients as closely as they would like. Telemedicine reduces doctors' travel time and increases convenience for Choctaw tribal members because satellite hookups are available at several locations in southeastern Oklahoma.
In 2004 UT Southwestern received a grant from the National Alzheimer's Association to look at cardiac risk factors affecting Alzheimer's Disease in the American Indian community. Telemedicine is another way of using existing technology to increase research capabilities and reach more people.
In addition, Dr. Weiner said, similar telemedicine setups could be used in any remote location, enabling doctors to better serve patients living in primarily rural areas.
'"/>
Contact: Katherine Morales
katherine.morales@utsouthwestern.edu
214-648-3404
UT Southwestern Medical Center
10-Feb-2005