Long-distance healing offered via new device: Telemedicine allows specialists to view patients at remote locations. [The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.]

Jun. 23--When you look into this camera, don't say "cheese." Say "Ahhhhhhh."

On Tuesday, officials of Centura Health, the network that includes St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center, and UnitedHealthCare unveiled their new Connected Care service that will allow patients around Southern Colorado to meet face-to-face with specialists without having to drive hours to get to Pueblo or Denver or worse, go without care.

Connected Care is the region's first large-scale telemedicine offering, using the Internet's ability to provide voice and video communications while transmitting the results of simple medical tests.

Dr. Christopher Stanley, senior medical director for UnitedHealthCare of Colorado, said that the plan got its start several years ago when Gov. Bill Ritter asked his company to make Colorado a pilot state for its new telemedicine program. United is a health services provider as well as an insurer but the new service is not limited to its customers. Stanley said that Medicare and Medicaid as well as private insurers will cover the costs of Connected Care visits.

Dr. Steve Brown, St. Mary-Corwin's chief medical executive, said that the Colorado Office of Rural Health and the Colorado Community Health Network helped to develop a list of remote sites where the service could best be used. Patients now can go to Buena Vista Family Practice, High Plains Community Health Care in Lamar, Rio Grande Hospital in Del Norte or St. Vincent General Hospital in Leadville and meet virtually with specialists at St. Mary-Corwin or two other Centura hospitals, Littleton Adventist and St. Anthony Central in Denver.

After the formal announcement Tuesday, Dr. Matthew Sumpter, a St. Mary-Corwin cardiologist, gave a demonstration of the system with the help of Mark Bohlenz and Jessica Medina in Lamar. Bohlenz is a medical radiologist at the High Plains office and Medina, the quality improvement coordinator, took the role of a patient.

While Sumpter watched on a large flat-screen display, Bohlenz did a basic exam. Instead of looking through his otoscope, the device instead was attached by cable to a computer, sending a high-resolution image of Medina's ear canal and throat to a computer and then to a smaller screen where Sumpter could see it in detail. A stethoscope likewise sent the sounds of her heartbeat and breathing to Sumpter's headphones and a dermascope gave a clear rendering of her skin as Sumpter checked fingernails for signs that could signal disease.

While Sumpter was just demonstrating the system Tuesday, he said that he looks forward to using it with real patients. The hospital has an outreach program that sends specialists into the region once a month but that isn't always practical for the patients.

Stanley said that the system overcomes geographical and timing problems. "Too many people in this country do not receive the care they need simply because of geography," he said.

While all four communities have general practitioners, for people with chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes, it's important to get regular checkups from a specialist but not always practical in small towns.

Because of that, Stanley said, many wind up waiting until problems get worse and they have to use an emergency room.

State Sen. Abel Tapia attended the announcement and said that in a time of state budget cuts, "We see a very positive thing happening here in Pueblo. Pueblo is a hub and it's a plus for our community."

Tapia predicted that the ability to treat patients in larger geographical areas would lure even more specialists to St. Mary-Corwin and help Pueblo, too.

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