Telemedicine Now Available at THTC Specialty Clinic

June 27, 2016

Telemedicine Now Available at Our Specialty Clinic         

We are excited to announce the opening of our telemedicine services. Using state-of-the-art, high-security technology, our new telemedicine program will provide easier access to physician specialists in nephrology (kidney), endocrinology (diabetes, thyroid, etc), and other medical specialties that are hard to access in the Tuscarawas County area.

Telemedicine appointments work similarly to in-person medical appointments. Patients will enter the hospital’s first floor Specialty Clinic, sign-in, and wait for their appointment to begin. Our telemedicine nurse, Jaclyn Abrecht, RN, BSN, will accompany the patient to an exam room and set up the virtual visit. Instead of the physician walking into the room, he or she will be on the screen. The specialist will talk with the patient to provide diagnosis and treatment, professional consultation, and health condition monitoring.

Our telemedicine program will begin offering additional cardiology services in July though Dr. Ramana Murty, board certified cardiologist from Trinity Health System (THS) of Steubenville. This fall, our telemedicine program will offer nephrology services through Drs. Patricia Khalil and Preethi Murty, board certified nephrologists from THS. If you or someone you love has kidney problems (blood or protein in urine, chronic kidney disease, high blood pressure, fluid retention, kidney stones, etc.), talk to your doctor or advanced practice professional to see if a nephrology appointment is needed. 

Our hospital also plans to offer endocrinology telemedicine services before the end of the year. “Many have let us know about the challenges of getting appointments with and traveling to specialists outside of our area, and we are excited to provide easier access to these high-demand specialists right here,” explained Teresa Gagliardi, THTC Chief Nursing Officer & Director of Patient Operations.

Telemedicine use  is on the rise in the United States. According to the May 2016 Journal of the American Medical Association, 107,000 Medicare patients had telemedicine visits in 2013. The benefits of telemedicine include the following: increased access to physician specialists, shorter wait time to get an appointment with a specialist, and the ability to save time and money on travel. Telemedicine visits are traditionally covered by Medicare and Medicaid and many other insurers. We encourage you to speak with your insurance company to see if telemedicine coverage is available to you.

THTC’s Telemedicine services were made possible through funding from the Mary Jane Brooks Charitable Trust and a partnership with Trinity Health System of Steubenville. For more information, call (740) 922-7480.