McAlester (Okla.) Regional Health Center is bringing telemedicine to students in McAlester Public Schools, following a unanimous vote of the MPS Board in January.
The MRHC Telemedicine Program will connect a student in need of care with a physician from the health center via video consultation. A student's parent and the school nurse will also be on the line during this virtual visit. MRHC will bill a student's insurance company following the visit.
The school nurse will facilitate the video consultation using software that allows the remote physician to examine a student's ears, eyes, heartbeat, lungs and throat. The offsite physician can use this information to make a diagnosis, prescribe medication and refer a student for additional care, if needed.
The program, which began Feb. 13 at Edmond, Okla.-based Will Rogers Elementary School, is slated to roll out to all eight MPS schools by March.