Tso Jason V, Farinpour Roxanna, Chui Helena C, Liu Collin Y
Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California , Los Angeles, CA , USA.
Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California , Los Angeles, CA , USA.
Front Neurol. 2016 Dec 23;7:225. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2016.00225. eCollection 2016.
The need for memory specialists is increasing as the incidence of dementia rapidly rises across the globe. In rural areas, demand for these specialists far outstrips supply. It is increasingly difficulty for patients to receive care in a timely manner. In this paper, we document our experience using videoconference telemedicine to bring a multidisciplinary model of care to a rural retirement community in Southern California. To our knowledge, we are one of the first to integrate telemedicine into dementia care on this large a scale. Given the relatively remote location, patients and neurologists have previously had to travel great distances and bear with long wait times. With neurological consultation by telemedicine and a local team consisting of a geriatrician, a neuropsychologist, and a case manager, we have been able to provide comprehensive dementia care in this underserved area, comparable to university-affiliated California Alzheimer's Disease Centers, typically found only in major metropolitan areas. We have shown that telemedicine can be very effective in improving access and quality of dementia care.
随着全球痴呆症发病率迅速上升，对记忆专家的需求也在增加。在农村地区，对这些专家的需求远远超过了供应。患者越来越难以及时获得护理。在本文中，我们记录了我们使用视频会议远程医疗为南加州一个农村退休社区带来多学科护理模式的经验。据我们所知，我们是首批将远程医疗大规模整合到痴呆症护理中的机构之一。鉴于该地区相对偏远，患者和神经科医生此前不得不长途跋涉并忍受长时间等待。通过远程医疗进行神经科会诊，并配备由老年病医生、神经心理学家和病例管理员组成的当地团队，我们得以在这个医疗服务不足的地区提供全面的痴呆症护理，其水平可与通常仅在大城市地区才有的加州大学附属阿尔茨海默病中心相媲美。我们已经表明，远程医疗在改善痴呆症护理的可及性和质量方面非常有效。
