Network: Using Technology to Overcome the Barriers to Rural Public Health Practice
Network: Using Technology to Overcome the Barriers to Rural Public Health Practice
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DOI：
10.1097/phh.0b013e3181f5413c
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发表时间：
2011-03-01
影响因子：
3.3
通讯作者：
Mayer, Heather
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Scott, Alison;Woodhouse, Lynn D.;Mayer, Heather
佐治亚州东南部公共卫生区(SEPHD)和许多农村公共卫生区一样，正在努力应对资金和人员的大幅削减。此外，与许多农村公共卫生区一样，SEPHD覆盖了广阔的地理区域。有效的沟通和管理是持续的挑战。员工会议或培训可能需要从业者开车数百英里。除了效率低下，这也是不可持续的，对环境也是不健康的。为了应对这些挑战，SEPHD实施了一项利用远程医疗技术连接SEPHD卫生部门的计划，并已能够消除大多数行政差旅。据我们所知，这是第一次评估远程医疗技术用于这一目的。一项评估表明，远程医疗每个月为SEPHD节省了大约31500美元的里程报销和工资，SEPHD的工作人员在道路上花费的时间减少了650个小时，并且避免了3.5万英里的驾驶。
Georgia's Southeast Public Health District (SEPHD), like many rural public health districts, is struggling to cope with drastic cuts in funding and staff. Furthermore, like many rural public health districts, the SEPHD covers a vast geographic area. Effective communication and administration are ongoing challenges. A staff meeting or training may require practitioners to drive hundreds of miles. Besides being inefficient, this is unsustainable and environmentally unsound. In response to these challenges, the SEPHD has implemented a program that harnesses telehealth technology to connect SEPHD health departments and has been able to eliminate most administrative travel. To our knowledge, this is the first evaluated use of telehealth technology for this purpose. An evaluation showed that, each month, telehealth saves the SEPHD roughly $31 500 in mileage reimbursements and salary, SEPHD staff spends 650 fewer hours on the road, and 35 000 miles of driving are avoided.