TED TeleHealth Rolls into Bedford VA

By ROBERT M. COOK

Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital (Bedford VA)

Bedford VA Veterans and health care providers experienced how Telehealthtechnology will enhanceVeterans’ access to carewhen the TED truck visited Bedford VA on Thursday.

Bedford is the 90th VA hospital that Leslie Fernyhough, a Telehealth education specialist fromIron Bow Technologies, has visitedsince January. The Ted truck showcasescutting edge technology that will enable physicians and nurses to diagnose patients using a multitude of video conferencing tools.

The technology demonstrated on the TED truck showed how nurses and health care providers will be able to administer EKGs, sonograms and even take retinal images, sharing them with physicians and specialists hundreds of miles away.

ATelewound camera will enable health care providers to take an image of a Veteran’s visible wound and measure it at a CBOC so it can be shared with their physician, Fernyhough said.“This technology was actually developed in New Zealand during the making of the Lord of the Rings films.

Nurses making home visits to Veterans can hook up the wound camera to their laptopsto share images with a physician when Veteransare housebound.Nurses can also bring a Transportable Exam Station (TES) kit that includes a USB otoscope and an electronic stethoscope.

To preserve space at CBOCs, Fernyhough said WallDocs that include a monitor, keyboard and imaging camera will be mounted on the wall where the Veteran or health care provider can stand during their video conference.

The new videoconferencing technology will make it easier forVeterans to meet with their mental health providerswithout traveling to the VA Medical Center. Veterans are already receiving telemental health at the Bedford VA from the CBOCs. Contact your provider for more information.

“The VA is actually at the leading edge of Telehealth and way ahead of the private sector,” Fernyhough said.

Robert Cook, Public Affairs, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital (Bedford VA)

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