FaceTime for Health

I mentioned in class yesterday that the iPhone 4's FaceTime feature had recently been used in surgery for the first (known) time. After looking up some info on this, I saw that this surgery took place at Valley Presbyterian Hospital's Amputation Prevention Center, a state of the art facility that just opened earlier this year. The Amputation Prevention Center is focused innovative, preventative approaches to limb preservation in patients diagnosed with diabetes (a number that sadly only seems to be rising). The core approach of the center is a "team-based" technique, pairing vascular surgeons with podiatrists.

While the surgery itself was performed by Dr. Lee Rogers at Valley Presbyterian, the help came from Dr. David G. Armstrong at the University of Arizona's Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA). Rogers called Armstrong via FaceTime for a real-time wound patient consultation. The doctors communicated during the surgery and followed up later for a second opinion on a different patient.

“While the University of Arizona has had one of the world's top telehealth systems, the ability to communicate quickly with something that is an afterthought has the potential to alter how we work with our colleagues and patients. Just as with the iPod in music and the laptop in computing, it is not the change in technology, but the change in form factor and ubiquity that alters this landscape," Dr. Armstrong said in a press release.

Though video-chatting has been around for a while now, FaceTime sets itself apart in its mobility. People tend to carry their phones around, so it's certainly more convenient than a computer. Of course, some limitations are that you must both have an iPhone 4 and a WiFi connection.

Article here: http://tinyurl.com/38pgqom

When I was looking this up I found a group called 3G Doctor. According to the site, you can "video consult" with a registered doctor, but they're not meant to replace your regular physician or an emergency room. They also advise you only ask questions that can be answered from a remote location (like chronic pain, rashes, side effects...). It seems a little sketchy, but I guess they're filling a need - they're 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Only those 18+ in Ireland and the UK can use the service, which is £35 each time you call (via paypal, credit, or debit).