How telemedicine can help schools

Telemedicine programs at public schools can give new options to pediatric patients when their parents aren’t available. The Washington Post reports on one such example at Ducketts Lane Elementary School in Elkridge, Maryland.

A second-grader came into the nurse’s office experiencing an asthma attack, but the student’s parents hadn’t yet delivered her medication.

Rather than rely on a parent who was at work an hour away or send the child to the emergency room, nurse Veronica DeSimone used a telemedicine link to Howard County General Hospital, where a physician could examine the student with a digital stethoscope.

Confirming DeSimone’s diagnosis, the doctor directed her to administer the medication. Ten minutes later, the student was back in class.

For more on the barriers can stifle telemedicine’s growth into schools, click on the link below: