Missouri Medical Review Fall 2009 : Page 30

Partnership Provides Language Link missouri telehealth Interpretation Project bridges geographic, cultural boundaries A rural Missouri girl who doesn’t speak English was the first patient to benefit from a new partnership involving the Missouri Telehealth Network at the University of Mis- souri. The grant-funded partnership connects patients and physicians with interpreters of 25 languages, from Spanish to Swahili. The girl lives in a town of ap- proximately 100 people in southern Missouri, where she had no access to the health care services required to diagnose and treat her chronic skin condition. She suffered for months from an unusual rash spreading across her arms until May 2009, when the power of telecommunications technology helped connect her with a pediatric dermatologist at MU’s medical school in Columbia and a Spanish interpreter in St. Louis. A $232,780 grant from the Mis- souri Foundation for Health helped launch the new Missouri Telehealth Interpretation Project, which bridges both distance and language barriers for patients in rural areas. Other part- nership participants include the Lan- guage Access Metro Project (LAMP), an interpretive services agency in St. Louis; MU’s Missouri Telehealth Network, which has telecommunica- tions sites in more than 45 counties; and MU’s Center for Health Policy, which focuses on improving health care access and health literacy. The project will provide LAMP interpreters, free of charge for two years, to health care provid- ers through the telehealth network already in place throughout the state. The network uses two-way live, interactive video to deliver patient care from providers in urban areas to underserved patients throughout the 30 Missouri Medical review Fall 2009 Jon Dyer, MD ‘98, a pediatric dermatologist at the MU School of Medicine, is the first to remotely consult with a patient and an interpreter thanks to the Missouri Telehealth Interpretation Project. state in specialties such as dermatol- ogy, psychiatry, autism, endocrinology and others. LAMP interpreters will attend patient appointments and confirm appointments to reduce pa- tient no-shows and late cancellations. “The Missouri Telehealth Network has more than 150 sites across Mis- souri, and thanks to this grant partner- ship, the network’s health care provid- ers are now able to communicate with patients in dozens of languages,” said Karen Edison, MD ’89, medical direc- tor of MU’s telehealth network. “We believe this new service will enhance our patients’ ability to understand information and make decisions about their care, ultimately resulting in bet- ter health outcomes.” The rural Missouri girl used a telehealth site near her home to communicate with Jon Dyer, MD ’98, a pediatric dermatologist at the MU School of Medicine, and a LAMP interpreter in St. Louis. Dyer exam- ined live images of coin-shaped lesions on the girl’s skin, diagnosed her with nummular eczema, and prescribed medication during the three-way telehealth session. “The new partnership will improve health care quality and accessibility for patients across Mis- souri,” Dyer said. “It also will save Missourians time, money and even the pollution associated with travel for health care services.” —Natalie Fieleke

Partnership Provides Language Link

Missouri Telehealth Interpretation Project bridges geographic, cultural boundaries A rural Missouri girl who doesn’t speak English was the first patient to benefit from a new partnership involving the Missouri Telehealth Network at the University of Missouri. The grant-funded partnership connects patients and physicians with interpreters of 25 languages, from Spanish to Swahili. The girl lives in a town of approximately 100 people in southern Missouri, where she had no access to the health care services required to diagnose and treat her chronic skin condition. She suffered for months from an unusual rash spreading across her arms until May 2009, when the power of telecommunications technology helped connect her with a pediatric dermatologist at MU’s medical school in Columbia and a Spanish interpreter in St. Louis. A $232,780 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health helped launch the new Missouri Telehealth Interpretation Project, which bridges both distance and language barriers for patients in rural areas. Other partnership participants include the Language Access Metro Project (LAMP), an interpretive services agency in St. Louis; MU’s Missouri Telehealth Network, which has telecommunications sites in more than 45 counties; and MU’s Center for Health Policy, which focuses on improving health care access and health literacy. The project will provide LAMP interpreters, free of charge for two years, to health care providers through the telehealth network already in place throughout the state. The network uses two-way live, interactive video to deliver patient care from providers in urban areas to underserved patients throughout the state in specialties such as dermatology, psychiatry, autism, endocrinology and others. LAMP interpreters will attend patient appointments and confirm appointments to reduce patient no-shows and late cancellations. “The Missouri Telehealth Network has more than 150 sites across Missouri, and thanks to this grant partnership, the network’s health care providers are now able to communicate with patients in dozens of languages,” said Karen Edison, MD ’89, medical director of MU’s telehealth network. “We believe this new service will enhance our patients’ ability to understand information and make decisions about their care, ultimately resulting in better health outcomes.” The rural Missouri girl used a telehealth site near her home to communicate with Jon Dyer, MD ’98, a pediatric dermatologist at the MU School of Medicine, and a LAMP interpreter in St. Louis. Dyer examined live images of coin-shaped lesions on the girl’s skin, diagnosed her with nummular eczema, and prescribed medication during the three-way telehealth session. “The new partnership will improve health care quality and accessibility for patients across Missouri,” Dyer said. “It also will save Missourians time, money and even the pollution associated with travel for health care services.” —Natalie Fieleke

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