“There are a lot of health care venues
that talk about a commitment to telemedicine,” he says, “but Piggott Community Hospital demonstrates its commitment. Both from the top down (leadership
commitment) and the bottom up (pro-
fessional staff buy-in at all levels), PCH
is dedicated to providing telemedicine excellence for its patients.”
A perhaps unanticipated challenge
faced by PCH in its desire to increase its telemedicine outreach is not in the areas of technology or patient satisfaction; the challenge is often in getting physicians comfortable with the practice.
“There are a lot of health care venues that talk about a commitment to telemedicine, but Piggott Community Hospital demonstrates its commitment…to providing telemedicine excellence for its patients.” “If we can get our specialty physi-
cians (located in other locations who
travel to Piggott for outpatient services) to try telemedicine, they most often
report liking and appreciating it,” Ma-
gee says. “We will never eliminate the
needed face-to-face physician visits, but we find we can reduce the number of
in-person encounters greatly when our specialists embrace telemedicine.”
Physicians typically agree to use
telemedicine when they see the positive impact it has on their patients.
It’s easy to see how telemedicine can
be a boon to rural health care, bringing specialists into reach for patients
in remotely located and underserved
areas. And PCH’s examples of how to utilize and encourage participation in
telemedicine are already bearing fruit in neighboring states. Besides the use of 16 . SUMMER 2017