Telehealth Lets Veterans Reduce Wait Times By Months
How long patients were sitting in traffic just to get to their doctor's appointment was one impetus for the shift to options other than in-person visits.
KPCC:
Skype With Your Doc? 'Telehealth' Shortens Wait Times For Vets In Ventura County
Military veterans in Ventura County needing specialty medical care are increasingly seeing their providers through a Skype-like app. The Department of Veterans Affairs calls it "telehealth." Traffic on the highways between the V.A. outpatient clinic in Oxnard and the veterans hospital in Westwood is a big reason for the change. It simply took too long for many patients to make the drive to West Los Angeles just for a doctor's appointment. (Ismay. 8/10)
In other health technology news —
La Cañada Valley Sun:
New Robot System At USC Verdugo Hills Hospital Uses UV Light To Disinfect Hospital Rooms
A robot that can disinfect a hospital room in a matter of minutes, using UV light to kill bacteria and microorganisms that cause life-threatening infections, is one of several new technologies coming to patients served by USC Verdugo Hills Hospital. The $100,000 portable unit, created by San Antonio-based Xenex Disinfection Services, uses a xenon bulb capable of emitting full-spectrum light rays up to 2,000 times brighter than natural sunlight to genetically destroy 99.9% of all microorganisms, even the ones traditional cleaning methods might miss. (Cardine, 8/10)