Healthy People. Healthy Choices. Healthy Lake County.
Using Skype to Assist TB Patients
The Illinois Department of Public Health recommends that health care providers use interventions such as
direct observe therapy (DOT) to assure successful completion of Tuberculosis (TB) treatment. Staff at the
TB Program observes pulmonary TB patients taking their medications on a daily basis to ensure they are
appropriately completing their treatment and that the disease is not transmissible to others. This can be taxing
on both staff and the patients. This year, program staff began using Skype to observe the medication routine
of one patient. This gave more flexibility to the patient and more time for staff to focus on clinic patients. The
program plans to offer the Skype approach to more patients in the future.
Increasing Outreach to HIV-Positive Individuals
Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI H