Gordan Alloway, healthcare delivery expert, has recently joined PSN as a telehealth and telemedicine adviser. Gordon has served as the Project Director for the Heartland Telehealth Resource Center, one of 14 federally-funded Telehealth Resource Centers across the U.S. coordinating assistance provided in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
He has also served as a staff member at the University of Kansas Medical Center, a research associate and project manager for the KU Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth in Kansas City, KS and has managed multiple grant-funded projects.
“Telemedicine” is most commonly used to refer to two-way, interactive video conferences that allow patients to “see” their doctor without being in the same room. This helps increase access to medical care, especially for patients living in rural areas.
As with many other technologies, additional devices can be attached to the videoconferencing system to enhance the patient experience. Some of these devices include a digital stethoscope or a dermatology camera that can record a patient’s vitals or health information so that a doctor can assess from a distance.
However, telemedicine is not limited to video conferencing. Remote patient monitoring, store-and- forward and mHealth are other common types of telemedicine.
Through PSN, Alloway will be providing both healthcare providers and facilities with education and assistance to get up to speed on the rules, regulations and technology information that is needed to start or expand telemedicine programs.
PSN’s goal is to show how to make these programs sustainable and assist with providing hands-on training designed to help a practice, clinic or organization provide the best care for patients via telemedicine.
According to Alloway, integrating telemedicine into the everyday workflow is essential to assuring that the technology will be used to the fullest.
“We’ve seen cases where a facility invests the time and start-up costs in the technology, but then the people who are trained on it move on to other jobs and after that it collects dust,” Alloway shared. That’s why it’s important to create a work plan and get everyone using the technology as part of the culture. Using telemedicine should become as routine as making patient referrals.
Mr. Alloway earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Journalism from the University of Kansas and possesses considerable experience as a long-time marketing executive and health care entrepreneur. He resides in Overland Park, KS.
