FMC starts new telehealth program

More Freestone and Leon County residents can now receive care from medical specialists without having to go to Waco, Tyler, Dallas or Houston.

On July 1, Freestone Medical Center launched a new telehealth program designed to provide a number of new clinical services like hospitalist, cardiology and endocrinology. The program is aimed at reducing the transfer of patients to specialists outside Freestone County.

Dr. Sarjoo Patel, CEO of Beam Healthcare, said patients can receive high level care in the hospital 24/7 with new telemedicine technology.

Patients will be able to speak with the physician via video on an iPad and providers will be able to remotely listen to heart-lung sounds and other routine vital signs.

“With the 24/7 telehospitalist program, Freestone Medical Center will be able to keep acutely sick patients locally in the hospital and avoid unnecessary transfers to outside institutions,” Patel said. “Patients are now able to receive high-quality care in their community and stay close to their family and friends.” “The new telemedical technology allows patients to stay in Freestone County and get the same exact care through the medical specialists that they would see at a larger hospital such as cardiology, endocrinology, rheumatology and other specialists,” said John Yeary, CEO of Freestone Medical Center.

Patel said the most important part of patient care is the interview. “Telemedicine is still 95% medicine. It all starts with giving the patient time and attention to hear their medical history,” Patel said.

“From here, our telemedicine providers are able to remotely listen to a patient’s heart, lungs, and abdomen with a digital stethoscope, and evaluate skin, ear, and throat with a digital camera. We can then put the whole picture together with the patient’s interview, their virtual exam, and by reviewing their labs, images, and other notes. The only thing I am not able to do is put my finger on the patient but otherwise the whole process and the level of care is same as us being there in person.”

Beam Healthcare, based in Madison, Wisconsin, has been providing telemedicine services in hospital and clinic settings since 2014.

Beam Healthcare has been taking care of patients in medical and intensive care units for many years. Its telemedicine programs are also accredited by The Joint Commission, a quality assurance organization.

Patel graduated from medical school in 2011 and immediately saw rural hospitals struggling to meet their patients’ healthcare needs.

“I just saw that smaller hospitals were losing so many patients because of their lack of providers,” Patel said. “I wanted to help rural hospitals find a way to take care of these complex patients instead of sending them off for non- procedural reasons.”

Patel said hiring onsite physicians in rural areas is difficult and cost prohibitive.

High-quality telemedicine programs will help bridge this gap and will make healthcare much more convenient for Freestone Medical’s residents, according to Patel.

“Some families can’t take time off from work to take an elderly family member to an out-of-town hospital,” Patel said. “Then there are high gas prices, wait time, travel time. You travel up to two hours or more for a 15-minute visit.”

Yeary said his hospital’s patients have routinely pleaded to stay in Fairfield.

“They would be transferred to other facilities to attain inpatient specialist care that their condition necessitated,” Yeary said. “This has always been very scary for patients and their families. With the new telemedicine platform, patients can get the care they need, right here at home, provided by caring staff whom they know and trust. All this is without putting undue burden on patients and family members in an impersonal hospital and potentially costing untold amounts of money for gas and hotel accommodations to stay with their loved ones.”