For some local kids, a case of the sniffles now means a visit to the computer — specifically, one linked to a pediatrician via the Internet and a high-resolution Webcam.
It's a concept called telemedicine, and the Candy Apple Child Care Center recently became the first rural location to offer it through a spin-off of the Strong Memorial Hospital's Health-e-Access program.
At an open house last night, 11-year-old Maddie Wood of Walworth, whose mother, Nancy, coordinates the program at Strong, demonstrated the program for other children. Sticking “Dr. Camscope, a long plastic tube with a video camera in it, into her ear, she showed how high-resolution images could be sent over the Internet.
Later, she showed Miranda Meyer of Newark, 4, how to use a device for capturing images of the skin that are more detailed than what could be seen with a human eye.
While he admits that some of the human touch is lost when practicing medicine over the Internet, Jordan said there are advantages, too – avoiding germ-filled waiting rooms, for one.
“If she's got a stomach ache, we gotta go to the doctor,” Meyer said. “Every little sniffle.” This way, she said, they could get reassurance that nothing serious is wrong without having to make all those trips.
The telemedicine equipment, which Candy Apple bought with a combination of grants and private funding will be used – with parents' permission – to diagnose children in the child care center's programs.
In addition to video images, sounds from a stethoscope can also be transmitted online. And the telemedicine program will allow trained Candy Apple personnel to provide rapid strep tests, urine dip stick tests and respiratory tests, too.
Several security precautions have been taken. Staff members trained to use the system had their fingerprints scanned into the computer. Before they can use the computer, they have to place their fingertips over a small scanner on the keyboard and scan their fingerprints again. If the print matches one in the system, they can use it. If it doesn't, they can't. The Internet connection is also behind a strong firewall.
Equipment of the kind used at Candy Apple can cost around $10,000 to set up, Jordan said. Health-e-Access operates 22 telemedicine sites in the Rochester area, serving around 8,000 children.
Candy Apple, which is marking its 30th anniversary this year, is a non-profit organization, caring for 55 children from infancy through fourth-grade.
At least one of those children has already used the telemedicine program for real, Arliss said, who noted that they trained staff over the summer and have been in practice mode since then.
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