Baltimore-based University of Maryland Medical Center is joining forces with Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin, Md., to offer expanded access to thoracic care through a telemedicine partnership.
Via the partnership, patients at Atlantic General will be able to consult with physicians at UMMC through video teleconferencing technology. UMMC thoracic surgeons will also be able to review CT scans and tests to determine if the patient is a surgical candidate. All surgeries will then be performed at UMMC.
Six UMMC thoracic surgeons will participate in the new telemedicine program. Additionally, the program will include postoperative care and follow-up visits via telemedicine.
"The goal of expanding the telemedicine service at Atlantic General Hospital is to utilize the latest technological advances we have in an effort to save patients and their families from traveling more than two hours one-way to Baltimore from Berlin to be evaluated and ensure that at least their initial care can be done in the patients' local community," said Marc T. Zubrow, MD, vice president, telemedicine and medical director, eCare at University of Maryland Medical System.
The eventual plan is to expand the thoracic telemedicine program to include a variety of cancer diagnoses.