Sunday, August 19, 2012

Marshfield Clinic Receives Grant

 Marshfield Clinic received a $39,675 grant to increase patient access to healthcare through telecommunications and videoconferencing. The grant was awarded by the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Wisconsin to fund new interactive videoconferencing technology to connect patients in rural areas to healthcare providers at Marshfield.

This funding will enable the Clinic to expand its telehealth capabilities within areas such as telepharmacy and telestroke according to Nina M. Antoniotti, Director of Telehealth at Marshfield Clinic.

The telepharmacy services allow pharmacists at Clinic locations to remotely oversee the mixing of drugs which includes chemotherapy drugs at other locations. The Clinic has eleven telepharmacy sites throughout the system. As for treating strokes, telehealth enables a neurologist to videoconference into a hospital to make urgent treatment decisions without delay.

The PSC grant is also going to support the Clinic’s initiative to incorporate mobile services into telehealth to allow physicians to video conference using mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets.

This grant is one of 23 grants awarded to healthcare providers in Wisconsin, and funded by the state’s universal service fund. The grants target projects that demonstrate the use of advance telecommunications services to extend medical care in rural areas and among underserved populations.