Calif. Telemedicine Program Includes Nephrologist

FRENCH CAMP, Calif.—San Joaquin General recently added nephrology and neurology to its menu of telemedicine offerings, reported The Record.

Last year, San Joaquin General was selected from among 170 facilities by the University of California, Merced, to be an initial site in the university's Valley Telehealth Partnership, funded by a grant of nearly $1 million from AT&T, the California Emerging Technology Fund and the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley.

After getting their referral appointments, patients go to the hospital's telehealth center located in the space left vacant when San Joaquin General opened a new, off-site dialysis facility. A patient sits in front of a high-resolution, large-screen TV monitor equipped with a closed-circuit camera and microphone that allows the specialist physician to conduct a two-way interview and visual examination from a remote location.