Earl Ferguson of the Southern Sierra Telehealth Network on Using Technology To Improve Care

In a conversation for California Healthline, Earl Ferguson, director of the Southern Sierra Telehealth Network, discussed how telemedicine can improve access to care in rural areas.

Ferguson said high-definition video helps remote psychiatrists and dermatologists obtain visual information for accurate diagnoses.

He also discussed differences in how Medicare and Medi-Cal reimburse health care providers for telemedicine services. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program (California Healthline, 12/8).

The complete transcript of this Special Report is available as a PDF.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

<h1>Earl Ferguson of the Southern Sierra Telehealth Network on Using Technology To Improve Care</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2010-12-08T00:00:00-08:00">
			December 8, 2010		</time>
		</div>
<p>In a conversation for <i>California Healthline</i>, Earl Ferguson, director of the Southern Sierra Telehealth Network, discussed how telemedicine can improve access to care in rural areas.</p><p>Ferguson said high-definition video helps remote psychiatrists and dermatologists obtain visual information for accurate diagnoses.</p><p>He also discussed differences in how Medicare and Medi-Cal reimburse health care providers for telemedicine services. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program (<i>California Healthline</i>, 12/8).</p><p>The complete transcript of this Special Report is available as a <a href="https://www.kff.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2010/12/chlspecialreporttranscript120810.pdf">PDF</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/earl-ferguson-of-the-southern-sierra-telehealth-network-on-using-technology-to-improve-care/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/earl-ferguson-of-the-southern-sierra-telehealth-network-on-using-technology-to-improve-care/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/earl-ferguson-of-the-southern-sierra-telehealth-network-on-using-technology-to-improve-care/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Earl%20Ferguson%20of%20the%20Southern%20Sierra%20Telehealth%20Network%20on%20Using%20Technology%20To%20Improve%20Care&body=https%3A%2F%2Fcaliforniahealthline.org%2Fnews%2Fearl-ferguson-of-the-southern-sierra-telehealth-network-on-using-technology-to-improve-care%2F&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/earl-ferguson-of-the-southern-sierra-telehealth-network-on-using-technology-to-improve-care/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/earl-ferguson-of-the-southern-sierra-telehealth-network-on-using-technology-to-improve-care/view/republish/">					Republish This Story				</a>			</li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p>

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