Eastern Montana Telemedicine Network celebrates 15 year anniversary

The Eastern Montana Telemedicine Network http://www.emtn.org/ recently celebrated its 15 year anniversary.

“(EMTN) has grown to a nationally recognized network serving thousands of patients yearly across Montana and Wyoming,” Glendive Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Scott Duke said.

By Kim Wiseman
Ranger-Review Staff Writer

According to a GMC press release, eastern Montana healthcare facilities in Glendive, Sidney, Culbertson and Miles City collaborated with Billings Clinic in taking the initial steps to develop the statewide network in 1993. “The group now serves 33 different locations in 23 communities on the EMTN network,” Duke said.

EMTN’s initial mobile unit used in exam rooms for patient consults weighed 500 pounds and was the size of a side-by-side refrigerator. “This unit was not an ideal clinical unit to bring into the exam rooms. … However, it did allow for patient consults from larger rooms to medical providers hundreds of miles away,” Duke added.

Duke explained that the EMTN’s mobile unit is approximately two feet by two feet and weighs nearly half of the original. This includes its peripheral devices and the monitor.

“The original V-Tel equipment was purchased for $65,000 per unit. Today a high definition medical unit complete with (the) stethoscope and peripheral camera sells for approximately $17,000,” Duke said.

EMTN has grown to include 52 site facilitators, 18 clinical presenters, 80 medical and mental health providers, four network staff, a network engineer, a medical director and multiple technical partners. “Today, total conferences per month hover around 350. The percentage of medical and mental health visits in fiscal year 2008 was 40,” Duke added.

Duke also related that a typical day at EMTN includes connections for meetings, educational programs, chemical dependency groups, mental health visits, diabetic research, medication assistance and an array of medical consults.

Anyone seeking more information on how to use GMC’s telemedicine facility via EMTN can contact Julie Borst at 345-3306.

“New medical providers of additional services are added monthly,” Duke added.

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Eastern Montana Telemedicine Network is a consortium of not-for-profit medical and mental health facilities linking health care providers and their patients throughout Montana and Wyoming.

Thousands of patients have benefited from the care provided through EMTN. In 2002, EMTN was recipient of the American Telemedicine Association’s President’s Award for the Advancement of Telemedicine.

http://www.emtn.org/