Telehealth is the distribution of health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunication technologies. It allows long-distance patient and clinician contact, care, advice, reminders, education, intervention, monitoring, and remote admissions. Telemedicine is sometimes used as a synonym, or is used in a more limited sense to describe remote clinical services, such as diagnosis and monitoring. When rural settings, lack of transport, a lack of mobility, decreased funding, or a lack of staff restrict access to care, telehealth may bridge the gap. as well as provider distance-learning; meetings, supervision, and presentations between practitioners; online information and health data management and healthcare system integration. Telehealth could include two clinicians discussing a case over video conference; a robotic surgery occurring through remote access; physical therapy done via digital monitoring instruments, live feed and application combinations; tests being forwarded between facilities for interpretation by a higher specialist; home monitoring through continuous sending of patient health data; client to practitioner online conference; or even videophone interpretation during a consult.
Telenursing refers to the use of information technology in the provision of nursing services whenever physical distance exists between patient and nurse, or between any number of nurses. As a field, it is part of telemedicine, and has many points of contacts with other medical and non-medical applications, such as telediagnosis, teleconsultation, and telemonitoring. The field, however, is still being developed as the information on telenursing isn't comprehensive enough.
The Indian Health Service (IHS) is an operating division (OPDIV) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). IHS is responsible for providing direct medical and public health services to members of federally-recognized Native American Tribes and Alaska Native people. IHS is the principal federal health care provider and health advocate for Indian people.
UC Davis Medical Center is part of UC Davis Health and a major academic health center located in Sacramento, California. It is owned and operated by the University of California as part of its University of California, Davis campus. The medical center sits on a 142-acre (57 ha) campus located between the Elmhurst, Tahoe Park, and Oak Park residential neighborhoods. The site incorporates the land and some of the buildings of the former Sacramento Medical Center as well as much of the land previously occupied by the California State Fair until its 1967 move to a new location.
Providence Alaska Medical Center is Alaska's largest hospital by revenue and number of beds. It has 401 beds, 1190 nurses and more than 850 physicians on staff. It is the second-largest private employer in Alaska. It is located at 3200 Providence Drive in Anchorage, Alaska, across the street from the main campus of the University of Alaska Anchorage. The hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission.
Telepsychiatry is the application of telemedicine to the specialty field of psychiatry. The term typically describes the delivery of psychiatric assessment and care through telecommunications technology, usually videoconferencing. Telepsychiatry services can be offered through intermediary companies that partner with facilities to increase care capacities, or by individual providers or provider groups. Most commonly, telepsychiatry encounters take place at medical facilities under the supervision of onsite staff, though at-home models are becoming accepted as long as they are in compliance with HIPAA standards.
The Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network (AFHCAN) is managed by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC). ANTHC is a tribal organization, as defined in 25 U.S.C. 450 (b) (c) and, along with the Southcentral Foundation, jointly manages and operates the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC), providing tertiary and specialty healthcare service in the state of Alaska, United States.
The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) is a non-profit health organization based in Anchorage, Alaska, which provides health services to 158,000 Alaska Natives and American Indians in Alaska. Established in 1997, ANTHC is a consortium of the tribal regional health organizations. The Board of Directors for ANTHC equally represent all tribal regions of Alaska and each region has parity. The foundation of tribal region unity and equality provides for the best health care service access for all Alaska Native people.
John Muir Health is a hospital network headquartered in Walnut Creek, California and serving Contra Costa County, California and surrounding communities. It was formed in 1997 from the merger of John Muir Medical Center and Mount Diablo Medical Center.
Home automation for the elderly and disabled focuses on making it possible for older adults and people with disabilities to remain at home, safe and comfortable. Home automation is becoming a viable option for older adults and people with disabilities who would prefer to stay in the comfort of their homes rather than move to a healthcare facility. This field uses much of the same technology and equipment as home automation for security, entertainment, and energy conservation but tailors it towards older adults and people with disabilities.
Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital (PCH) is a nationally ranked pediatric acute care children's teaching hospital located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The hospital has 289 pediatric beds and is affiliated with the University of Utah School of Medicine. The hospital is a member of Intermountain Healthcare (IHC) and is the only children's hospital in the network. The hospital provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0–21 throughout the Salt Lake City and outer region. PCH also sometimes treats adults that require pediatric care. PCH is a ACS verified Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center and is the largest providers of pediatric health services in the state. The hospital serves the states of Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, yielding an enormous geographic catchment area of approximately 400,000 square miles.
The University of New Mexico Hospital is a public teaching hospital located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, immediately north of the main campus of the University of New Mexico. The hospital is the only Level I trauma center in the state of New Mexico, and also houses the only certified burn unit and designated stroke center in the state. In addition, UNMH also contains the only children's hospital in New Mexico, and is the state's sole source of 13 pediatric sub-specialties. As a safety net hospital, UNMH serves a large percentage of the uninsured and under-insured population of the state. The hospital is the main teaching facility for the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.
Connected health is a socio-technical model for healthcare management and delivery by using technology to provide healthcare services remotely. Connected health, also known as technology enabled care (TEC) aims to maximize healthcare resources and provide increased, flexible opportunities for consumers to engage with clinicians and better self-manage their care. It uses readily available consumer technologies to deliver patient care outside of the hospital or doctor's office. Connected health encompasses programs in telehealth, remote care and disease and lifestyle management, often leverages existing technologies such as connected devices using cellular networks and is associated with efforts to improve chronic care. However, there is an increasing blur between software capabilities and healthcare needs whereby technologists are now providing the solutions to support consumer wellness and provide the connectivity between patient data, information and decisions. This calls for new techniques to guide Connected Health solutions such as "design thinking" to support software developers in clearly identifying healthcare requirements, and extend and enrich traditional software requirements gathering techniques.
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC), administers a health care delivery system for over 50 rural communities in the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta in southwest Alaska. The YKHC is accredited by the Joint Commission.
Southcentral Foundation (SCF) is an Alaska Native health care organization established by Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI) in 1982 to improve the health and social conditions of Alaska Native and American Indian people, enhance culture, and empower individuals and families to take charge of their lives. Alaska Native and American Indian people own, manage, direct, design, and drive our Southcentral Foundation. Under the leadership of President and CEO Katherine Gottlieb, Southcentral Foundation has distinguished itself as one of Alaska’s largest federally recognized tribal health organizations, serving the needs of Alaska Native and American Indian people populating a geographical area of 107,413 square miles (278,200 km2). A wide range of medical services and human services are provided to Alaska Native and American Indian people living in the Municipality of Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt (CHAV), also known as Vanderbilt Children's Hospital (VCH), is a nationally ranked pediatric acute care children's teaching hospital affiliated with Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The hospital has 267 pediatric beds and is affiliated the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. The hospital provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0–21 throughout the Nashville and the greater mid south region. Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt also sometimes treats adults that require pediatric care. Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt also features an American College of Surgeons level I pediatric trauma center for critically ill pediatric trauma patients. The hospital is attached to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and is affiliated with the nearby Ronald McDonald House of Nashville.
Telepharmacy is the delivery of pharmaceutical care via telecommunications to patients in locations where they may not have direct contact with a pharmacist. It is an instance of the wider phenomenon of telemedicine, as implemented in the field of pharmacy. Telepharmacy services include drug therapy monitoring, patient counseling, prior authorization and refill authorization for prescription drugs, and monitoring of formulary compliance with the aid of teleconferencing or videoconferencing. Remote dispensing of medications by automated packaging and labeling systems can also be thought of as an instance of telepharmacy. Telepharmacy services can be delivered at retail pharmacy sites or through hospitals, nursing homes, or other medical care facilities.
Traditional Alaska Native medicine is a cultural style of healing that has been passed down from one generation of Alaska Native peoples to the next and is based on success over time and oral tradition. In contrast to an allopathic or western view of medicine, traditional Alaska Native medicine believes that illness stems from an individual's disharmony with the environment and healing must therefore begin in the person's spirit.
Della Keats (Puyuq) was an Inupiaq Eskimo healer and midwife who grew up and came of age in the Kotzebue region of Alaska during the first half of the 20th century. The Kotzebue region is located in northwest Alaska along the coast, situated between Cape Thompson to the north and Cape Espenberg to the south. Further inland from the coast, the region she inhabited is in the drainage areas of the Noatak, Kobuk, and Selawik Rivers. Her life in this region coincided with rapid changes as other peoples voyaged and then settled in alongside indigenous societies. The region is named for Otto von Kotzebue, who explored the area in 1816. The Plover, of the Franklin Expedition, overwintered in Kotzebue Sound in 1849-50. Over the latter half of the 19th century, increased contact helped to spread disease; local people acquired firearms and alcohol; and some inhabitants abandoned their traditional territories by the turn of the century. Missions and schools were established in 1905-1915. During this time, families alternated between school and subsistence seasons. It was not until after the 1930s that Inupiat peoples settled more permanently into villages. This was a time of rapid shifts, and Della Keats and her family lived a traditional subsistence lifestyle while gradually incorporating new materials and entering into trade with a cash economy. She was a member of one of the ten communities in the Kotzebue region, Nuataagmiut.
The United States has many regions which have been described as medical deserts, regions with inadequate access to one or more kinds of medical services. An estimated 30 million Americans, many in rural regions of the country, live at least 60 minutes drive from a hospital with trauma care services. Limited access to emergency room services, as well as medical specialists, leads to increases in mortality rates and long-term health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes. Regions with higher rates of Medicaid and Medicare patients, as well patients who are uninsured are less likely to live within an hour's drive of a hospital emergency room.
