PORT ANGELES — Rather than driving to Seattle for an appointment with a subspecialist, Olympic Medical Center patients will have the luxury of video-conferencing through a burgeoning affiliation with Swedish Medical Center.
Tammy Cress, telehealth director at Seattle-based Swedish, told OMC commissioners that the Swedish Telehealth Network is expanding its partnership with the Port Angeles-based hospital.
The collaboration “is going to reduce the travel costs for your patients” and “align resources that will allow us to wisely and efficiently manage our very scarce resources,” Cress said in a briefing to the seven-member OMC board.
Through a secure video connection, a specialist in Seattle can diagnose a patient in Port Angeles using high-definition images and other technology.
The idea is to improve health care access to rural residents and decrease out-migration to Seattle-area hospitals.
The technology allows a patient to meet with a specialist and his or her primary-care doctor at the same time.
“It’s a three-way meeting,” Cress said.
“Everybody’s on the same page. The patient doesn’t necessarily have to travel, except to your community for the care.
“Everybody’s happier, and it ends up decreasing the overall cost of care and health care utilization for the patient because they’re getting to get everything clustered into one visit.”
OMC affiliated with Swedish Medical Center for telemedicine, electronic medical records and other services last October.
It was already part of the Swedish TeleStroke and TeleNeurosurgery programs.
“We’ve had both the TeleStroke and a TeleNeurosurgery relationship with Olympic Medical Center in place since 2010,” Cress said.
“I’m very proud to report we think it’s just a spectacular relationship,” she said.
“And the deep collaboration and true trust that has developed between the organizations as it pertains to telehealth is very exciting to Swedish.”
Eric Lewis, OMC chief executive officer, said the next step for telemedicine will be cardiology.
“I think one exciting thing we’re working on in cardiology is being able to read both nuclear stress tests and ECHOs [echocardiograms] that are done here,” Lewis said.
“Even the ones that are done at Swedish, we can read them here.”
OMC has similar capabilities in radiology through a contract with Everett-based Radia, which provides 24-hour coverage for hospitals throughout the region.
“I think being able to do that in cardiology is something that Swedish and Olympic Medical Center is working on,” Lewis said.
“As we look at all the details, it’s really complex. I appreciate Swedish stepping up and being a good partner on this,” Lewis said.
“It’s going to take awhile to get there, but it’s going to be well worth it once we’re there.”
Dr. John Miles, OMC board chairman, asked Cress about the response time to requests for telemedicine specialists.
“We work very closely with our partners such as yourselves to assure contractual compliance,” Cress said.
“Our relationship with you states that our doctors will be on call and available, and they will return a call and be available for televideo within 15 minutes of the initial page to the doctor.”
The medical staffs at Swedish and OMC meet on a monthly basis to debrief on stroke and neurosurgery video-conferencing cases.
“We’re seeing anywhere from five to 10 consultations a day on average,” said Cress when asked about telemedicine volumes.
“It’s variable within our system.”
Lewis said the emphasis on telemedicine was one of the reasons OMC selected Swedish as an affiliate.
Shortly after OMC inked a 20-year affiliation agreement, Jefferson Healthcare and Forks Community Hospital followed suit.
Lewis described the availability of on-call specialists as a “benefit to the patient.”
“Traveling to Seattle and back when you’re well is difficult,” Lewis said.
“When you’re sick, it’s even more difficult.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
