BROADBAND:
HELPING YOU THRIVE
Telemedicine technology
Fiber internet means more options for patients at Erlanger Bledsoe Hospital Story by LISA SAVAGE | Photography by MARK GILLILAND
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efore telemedicine, a patient hospitalized at Erlanger Bledsoe Hospital for complications from an injury and in need of specialized wound care faced a transfer from Pikeville to an out-of-town facility. Now, however, nurses at Erlanger Bledsoe Hospital use a computer on wheels that is equipped with remote-control cameras
designed for telemedicine. A specialist in Chattanooga can guide the treatment, and patients receive the same care as they would in a more specialized facility. It’s just one of the ways Erlanger Bledsoe utilizes technology and access to fast, reliable internet. “Access to telemedicine helps keep our people close to home, and that makes it easier for them,” Dr. Andrew Smith says. Smith joins Dr. David Sapp and Dr. Scott Dibrell as staff physicians serving patients at local nursing homes and at Erlanger Primary Care – Bledsoe, based at the hospital.
TELEMEDICINE
Dr. Andrew Smith
8 | January/February 2020
Access to more health care options through telemedicine is a game-changer for those living in rural areas like Bledsoe County, Smith says. Erlanger Bledsoe Hospital is part of the Erlanger Health System. Local patients have access to some of the best specialists in the region, and technology makes that connection much easier, Smith says. Within the last two years, the fiber optic internet expansion through BTC Fiber has allowed the Bledsoe location to expand the telemedicine technology to include access for wound care, behavioral health and health-related nutrition and dietary consultations. Telemedicine is also used for telemetry for cardiac care and cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation. Data is recorded and transmitted in real time to specialists at Erlanger’s main location in Chattanooga. “From electronic medical records to telemedicine, technolBTC Fiber
