Over the next four years , Adcock , Findley , and the rest of the team will establish channels of communication between WVU Medicine ’ s specialists in Morgantown ( population : 30,955 ) and emergency room ( ER ) physicians in Buckhannon , Gassaway , Ripley , and Summersville ( with populations that range from 859 to 5,493 ). The specialists will include neurologists , psychiatrists , and case managers .
Getting patients the care they need when and where they need it
Linking neurologists with ER physicians can be especially beneficial when a patient shows up at the ER with signs of a stroke , for instance . Neurologists can quickly evaluate the patient ’ s symptoms , determine if a stroke has occurred , and suggest the best treatment . They can also help to decide whether the patient should be transported to a comprehensive stroke center — which offers endovascular procedures around the clock — or can be cared for effectively where they already are .
“ By linking rural emergency medicine providers with specialists in real time , we can create care plans to keep emergency department patients in their home communities when able and more efficiently identify and treat patients whose needs require transfer for a higher level of care ,” Findley said .
The researchers will partner with Allm USA Inc .— a technology company that makes medical communications platforms — to customize an app that makes triaging patients easier .
“ They tailored their app to our niche state ’ s needs ,” Adcock said . “ It ’ s a very important tool for deciding the baseline of a patient . If the baseline is too poor , they ’ re not going to be a good candidate for endovascular therapy . So , we could avoid transporting them by helicopter to the tune of $ 33,000 .”
The app also makes it possible for ER physicians to share their patients ’ medical records , including MRIs and CT scans , with specialists over the phone while complying with medical privacy laws , and physicians can text or video chat securely without leaving the app .
“ We don ’ t have time to be going back and forth for 30 minutes ,” Adcock said . “ That ’ s just unrealistic .”
Emergencies of the mind
Incorporating behavioral medicine into the telehealth services offers its own rewards . It can be a boon to emergency department physicians when they treat patients who have substance use disorders .
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , West Virginia had the seventh-highest prevalence of opioid prescriptions in the United States in 2018 . The National Institutes of Health reported that the state leads the nation in opioid-involved overdose deaths per capita .
Making matters worse , substance-related overdoses have been rising since the COVID-19 pandemic began , with one study citing a 42 % increase in May 2020 compared to May 2019 , alongside rates of depression and anxiety , disordered eating , and suicidal thoughts .
“ In light of the COVID-19 pandemic , mental health and substance use crises are increasing nationally and in our own backyard ,” said Kari Law , an associate professor in the WVU Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry , medical director of WVU Telepsychiatry , and part of the research team . “ This funding allows for the implementation of an innovative healthcare delivery model while minimizing stigma surrounding treatment . Patients should be able to access treatment without driving four hours to do so .”
To gauge the telehealth program ’ s success , the research team will consider several outcomes , such as the frequency of patient transfers between hospitals , the length of hospital stays , and the number of times patients are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of being discharged . They hypothesize that the telehealth program will make hospital transfers less likely , reduce the number of readmissions , and shorten hospital stays .
“ Rural communities are a wonderful part of the fabric of West Virginia and should be supported ,” Findley said . “ However , they do not have the population density to recruit subspecialty providers . We hope to bridge the coverage gap with telemedicine .”
Image : Medical specialists often can ’ t — or choose not to — work in rural emergency departments . Scott Findley , a researcher with the WVU School of Medicine , and his colleagues are using telehealth to close that gap . They have received a $ 1.2 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to support telehealth at four rural emergency departments in West Virginia . Photo by Little Fish Illustration / Lindsey Estep .
Using wearable tech to keep babies , pregnant women healthy
A new study by Shon Rowan — an associate professor with the West Virginia University ( WVU ) School of Medicine — is using wearable technology to fill the knowledge gap on the fitness of pregnant women . The WVU Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology funded the $ 25,000 project , and the West Virginia Clinical & Translational Science Institute provided statistics for the research .
“ There are not many studies looking at exercise in pregnancy ,” said Rowan , an infertility physician with WVU Medicine . “ This is in large part due to institutional review boards not wanting to approve studies due to risks . However , retrospective studies show exercise to be of great benefit to pregnant women .”
The device at the center of Rowan ’ s study , WHOOP , is worn on the wrist . Sixty times each second , it collects data about the wearer ’ s resting heart rate , heart rate variability , respiratory rate , and sleep .
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