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CASE STUDY TELEMEDICINE

Weve challenged SKC in

dreaming up a solution and

weve changed our minds

multiple times, even during

installation. I wondered how SK

would respond and theyve been

great.Weve worked through

our changes and obstacles

and theyve provided a great

response to meeting our needs Vicki Irvin

Chie Clinical Ofcer

Te Clarke County Hospital in Osceola, Iowa is the hospital of choicefor many of Clarke Countys residents due to its nearby quality healthcarecoupled with a warm and caring environment. However, doctors at thehospital regularly found themselves sending their patients to seek care from a

specialist nearly an hour away in Des Moines. Many times, the care receivedin Des Moines could have been administered at the Clarke County Hospitalunder the direction of the specialist.

In addition to the travel incurred by patients, specialists would occasionallytravel to Clarke County on a weekly or monthly basis to see patients, butthese specialists struggled to nd time to make the drive to Osceola.

Looking for ways to oer specialist care while keeping residents and doctorscloser to home, Clarke County ocials began researching telemedicineand toured a telemedicine facility in Kansas City. Te facility impressedClarke County ocials so much that they called the manufacturer, Cisco,to begin discussions on nding the right solution for their hospital. Cisco

recommended the same company that had deployed the Kansas Citytelemedicine facility, SKC.

SITUATION

SOLUTION

SKC began designing a solution that would enable patients toconnect to several specialists throughout Des Moines while stillreceiving the same quality care as if they had traveled to visit thedoctor in person. o accomplish this, each videoconferencingunit is equipped with medical devices, such as stethoscopes,allowing the specialists to perform tests and check-ups throughthe connection.

SKC began phase one of the installation project in September2009, nishing two weeks later. Te rst phase includedretrotting three patient rooms with Cisco elePresence Edge95 MXP HD videoconferencing systems, ceiling microphones,conduits and integrating AMD devices. SKC also installed CiscoelePresence 1700 MXP systems at two doctors locations in DesMoines and set up the project infrastructure for phase two.

Telemedicine and videoconferencingbring specialized healthcare to rural America.Located in south-central Iowa, Clarke County takes pride in providing a quality standard of living for its

residents. Home to more than 9,000 people, Clarke County is committed to growing with the community

as it offers a friendly rural environment with excellent schools, local businesses and healthcare.

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Te hospital saw immediate results after completion of the rstphase, as patients began saving time and money by avoidingthe commute to Des Moines. Te hospital itself is also savingits resources now that it can take care of more life threatening

issues instead of using an ambulance or helicopter to transportpatients. Te second phase of the project was completed in thesummer of 2010, adding 12 units to serve additional patientsin Osceola.

Ideally, wed like to have telehealth access in every patientroom instead of having to drag a telemedicine cart throughoutthe hospital, said Vicki Irvin, Chief Clinical Ocer. We

want this to be as simple as possible for both our sta and thespecialists in Des Moines.

Making the process simple for the specialists has been a key

in the success of the program, as Clarke County has had towork with the specialists to ensure scheduling and billing tssmoothly into their daily routine. Input from the specialists, as

well as mock runs and community focus groups all went intothe planning and execution of this telemedicine program.

We have a lot of dreams for our system; were not doing thisjust to do it, Irvin said. We want to make sure were oeringa better service all the way around, down to making sure thevideo unit is where the doctor wants it placed in the room.

We arent ones who just nod our heads and say, Yes. Wevechallenged SKC in dreaming up a solution and weve changedour minds multiple times, even during installation. I wonderedhow SKC would respond and theyve been great. Weve workedthrough our changes and obstacles and theyve provided a greatresponse to meeting our needs.

Te completion of the rst phase brought Clarke Countyresidents access to cardiology and vascular specialists in DesMoines through their local hospital, and with the addition ofnew systems, the hospital plans to add psychology, neurology

and nephrology in the near future. Eventually, Clarke Countyocials hope to also oer orthopedics and dermatologythrough telemedicine, providing their residents with larger cityhealthcare in the comfort of their hometown.

RESULTS

SOLUTION (cont.)

8008827779

www.skccom.com

SKC provides technology solutions that enable our clients to better

collaborate, communicate and connect with their key stakeholders

any time and any place.

Te second phase began in December 2009 and included theretrotting of 12 more patient rooms in addition to installingunits for ER and surgery procedures. Hospital I andconferences rooms were also outtted with videoconferencingsystems. Specialists received Cisco elePresence Movisystems which allow them to log into the hospitals bridgeand administer care from home. Additionally, schools and

retirement centers were equipped with video units in order toprovide health education and prevention.

Cisco TelePresence Edge 95 MXP

Cisco TelePresence 1700 MXP

Cisco TelePresence Management Suite

Cisco TelePresence VideoCommunication Server

Codian MCU

AMD Medical devices

Global Media Medical devices