HJAR Jul/Aug 2020

16 JUL / AUG 2020 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS Q&A Can you advise us on setting up telemedicine for a small practice? The best advice I can give is to test, test, and test again. Make sure you are comfort- able with the setup, and how your conference with the patient works. Put yourself on the other side of the conversation. What does the patient see; and howwould they perceive the conversation? You want the patient to walk away feeling as if they just met their phy- sician in their office. Various systems tend to put the technology first, and forget about the human element. The best conversations are one-on-one, when both parties can see the nonverbals. This is extremely important in healthcare. Ideally, a provider can see the responses of their patients, and respond ac- cordingly, just as they do when they are pres- ent in their clinic. There is very little difference in setting up telecommunications in a small, medium, or large practice. The most considerable dif- ference may be the number of locations needed. The most important setting for a positive telemedicine experience is having a dedicated, quiet, and secluded place, with- out interruptions. Also, it is imperative to be mindful of the surroundings, and what the camera will show to your patients. Several things to consider when setting up a telecon- ference area are lighting, background, posi- tion of the camera, distance from the cam- era and microphones, decorations, clothing choices, and appearance. Also, it is crucial to look in the camera. Again, I can’t emphasis this enough, test the setup from both sides before going live. Would this be different for a larger practice? This would depend on two things—what the practice is trying to accomplish, and the system chosen. A one-on-one consultation would require a smaller number of resources. Larger organizations, however, may want to have consultations with other providers in- side and/or outside the practice. They may even require different consultations with varying providers, at contrasting times. This would require additional telecommunica- tions equipment and connectivity to each other. Today, the availability of telecommu- nications equipment is as simple as using a smart phone. Complexity issues usually depend upon connectivity (the more end- points involved in the teleconference, and the camera resolution needed, will determine the type of connectivity necessary), and the reliability of the web or network connection. Here at the Arkansas Department of Health we serve all citizens of Arkansas, and when serving the rural areas of Arkansas, the avail- able connectivity can be challenging. Hi Jim, I am looking for some IT guidance for telemedicine. I’d be glad to help. What would you like to know?