broadband summit connecting alaska: telehealth on the tundra
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Broadband Summit Connecting Alaska: Telehealth on the Tundra . Steve Constantine Director, GCI Medical & Video Services November 6, 2008. Alaska Overview and Challenges. Unparalleled Size. Small and Distant Communities. 586,000+ square miles 245 communities - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Broadband SummitConnecting Alaska:
Telehealth on the Tundra Steve Constantine
Director, GCI Medical & Video Services
November 6, 2008
Alaska Overview and Challenges
Unparalleled Size
Small and Distant Communities
• 586,000+ square miles• 245 communities • ~40% of the 600,000
people are spread out in 240 small, isolated communities ranging in size from 25 to 5000
• Over 200 remote, Native (Aleut, Eskimo and Indian) villages in which 70% of the 86,300 Alaska Natives live
Year Round Road System
Communities Without aYear Round Road System
Limited Transportation Methods
Extreme Weather – Intense Storms
• Fairbanks, AK– Summer highs ~ 90°– Winter lows ~ (-60°)
• Western Alaska & Aleutian Islands
– Strong wind in all months but summer
– Gusts to 100+mph– Massive snow and ice storms
• Gulf of Alaska– 150 inches of rain per year
Additional Rural Alaskan Challenges
• Thin Infrastructure – Unique diesel powered utilities– High cost to build and
maintain telecommunications infrastructure
– Rural air travel & freight costs up 40% this year
• Extreme Energy Costs– All fuel barged before winter – Gasoline/Diesel/Heating oil is
$8-$10/gallon in smaller villages
• Limited Customer Base for Commercial Enterprise
– Sales, installation & maintenance costs prohibitive
GCI is Alaska’s Largest Communication Provider
• Incorporated in 1979 & publicly traded (NASDAQ: GNCMA)• Employing more than 1,600 Alaskans -$550M run rate• 175,000 customers• Statewide provider of the following services to residential,
business and government customers– Telephone service – local, LD, and cellular– Statewide Cable – television and Internet– ISP & data services– Statewide wireless (GSM) rollout– Own two fiber routes to lower 48
ConnectMD Overview
• ConnectMD provides medical communities with secure, reliable customer focused connectivity for exchanging electronic patient information.
• Incorporating IP based transport technologies, we can securely support real time, high bandwidth applications from the smallest clinic to physicians anywhere in the world.
Case Study: Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation – (YKHC)
• Serves a roadless region of western Alaska on the Bering Sea, the size of Oregon – Bethel (pop 5812) is the largest town
• 28,000 Yupik Eskimo people living in 50 communities across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
• Average per capita income is $15,000 per year• Transportation is by boat, snowmobile or aircraft
“Broadband deployment has transformed the delivery of healthcare services in the Y-K Delta.”
Gene Peltola, President & CEO, YKHC testifying before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee
on 9/16/2008
The Region Served by the YKHC
Microwave Network in the YKHC Region
Case Study: YKHC
– Low latency microwave circuits link most village clinics to the hospital in Bethel
– Satellite circuits link the Bethel hospital to Anchorage and a terrestrial backbone.
Case Study: YKHC
Case Study: YKHC Health Issues
• Suicide rate in Alaska was five times the national rate from 2003 to 2006
• Linked with depression and mental illness, often untreated in rural Alaska
• Kids aged 10-19 account for 60% of the state’s suicides• New Tele-Psych initiative utilizes video conferencing to
connect at-risk youth with behavioral health specialists
High Definition Video Conferencing
• YKHC purchased and is deploying 52 high definition video conferencing units for the regions behavioral health clinics
• Providers will be based in Bethel, Anchorage and the lower 48 and equipped with HD VTC units.
Case Study: YKHC Behavior Health
• Adult Mental Health Rehabilitation Services– Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD – Substance Abuse Treatment– Family Therapy– Functional Assessments– Semi Annual Medication Administration– Case Management– Individual Skill Development Services– Group Skill Development Services
YKHC Telemedicine Direction
• Electronic Health Records• Dental health aide program• Physical therapy services• Speech-language pathology services• Occupational therapy services• Audiologist services• Optometry services• Podiatry services • Teleradiology:
– Digital medical, dental & ultrasound imaging technologies – Reads are delivered within 15 minutes of the imaging– This program has reduced wait times and enabled better treatment of
pneumonia, fractures, head injuries, appendicitis and cancers
Store and Forward Medical Carts
• Client/Server Device• Mini-EHR• Vital signs monitors• Tympanometer• Digital camera• Spirometer• Dental camera• Digital Otoscope• Digital stethoscope
Case Study: Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation
Case Study: YKHC
ATV accident!Location: the small village of Lower Kalskag. • Patient transported by plane to the Aniak (pop 572) sub-regional
clinic - the nearest X-Ray facilities• Patient’s lower leg x-rayed and image sent to a radiologist in Ohio. • Radiologist determined that the patient fractured his fibula. • Consulting orthopedic surgeon at Alaska Native Medical Center in
Anchorage determined there was no for need surgery, only a cast. • This not only saved the patient from coming into Bethel, 120 miles
away and an hour long plane ride, but also saved him a very expensive trip into Anchorage to see a specialist.
Telemedicine Technology Benefits
• Greater access to healthcare• Improved quality of care • Better outcomes of care received• Retention tool for medical professionals• New education pathway for patients & staff• Alternative to high cost air travel• When the planes can’t fly……
Winter in Alaska – Snow, Ice and Lots of Darkness
