Defense readies system to treat PTSD, brain injuries remotely
R.D. Ward/Defense Department 032210schoomakerNGins (Mar. 22) - Army Surgeon General Eric Schoomaker wants the service to begin providing mental health services over the Internet.
Thousands of miles and a lack of facilities have kept the Army from providing treatment to soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder. But the Defense Department plans to deploy a solution soon that relies on a transportable telehealth system that will virtually bring doctors to patients.
The portion of Iraq war soldiers suffering from PTSD is estimated to be as high as 35 percent. As a result, Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the Army surgeon general, has pushed the service to consider using technology to provide much-needed treatment.
The National Center for Telehealth and Technology, which is part of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, took delivery last week of its first transportable unit, said Matt Mishkind, acting chief of the center's clinical telehealth division. It marks a first step in meeting Schoomaker's challenge to use technology to replace face-to-face sessions between clinicians and soliders.
The telehealth unit is actually a standard 8-by-20 foot shipping container that houses most of what can be found in a brick-and-mortar clinic, including three treatment rooms. The difference, however, is there is no doctor on staff. Patients see physicians via the unit's computer network, which is equipped with video teleconferencing (VTC) systems supplied by Tandberg.
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100322_5628.php?oref=topnews
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