Alaska
Federal Health Care Access Network (AFHCAN)
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
Alaska
Federal Health Care Access Network
Stewart Ferguson PhD
4000
Ambassador Drive
Anchorage, AK 99508
Ph: 907-729-2260
Fax: 907-729-2269
http://www.afhcan.org
Email: sferguson@afhcan.org
Network
Partners:
Alaska Native Tribal Health organizations;
Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health
Service (IHS); Department of Defense (DOD), Army and
Air Force; Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans
Health Administration (VA); Department of Homeland
Security, United States Coast Guard (USCG); and the
State of Alaska Department of Health and Social
Services,
Public Health, Section of Public Health Nursing (PHN).
Project
Purpose: AFHCAN's
mission is to improve access to health care for Federal
beneficiaries in Alaska through sustainable telehealth
systems. This project was an initiative of the Alaska
Federal Health Care Partnership (AFHCP) which was
founded to create efficiencies in health care among
Federal agencies in Alaska. It is currently administered
under the Alaska Native Tribal Healthcare Consortium
(ANTHC).
Outcomes
Expected: Sites
Deployed, Sites with Connectivity Verification
Provider Satisfaction, Patient Satisfaction, Workflow,
Quality of Care, Training, Technical Support, Travel
Avoidance - Software Incorporated Survey (Likert Scale) Comparison
of Ear Images and In-Person Examination, Community
Health Aide Acquired Images and Exam - Blinded Concordance
Study ENT Specialty Clinic Access, Provider Time Efficiency
– Documentation Utilization (Real Cases/Training
Cases) - Database Query
Service
Area: 248
sites from 43 member organizations distributed throughout
the State of Alaska.
Services
Provided: Store-and-Forward
telemedicine including: Audiology, Cardiology, Dental,
Dermatology, Family Medicine, Gynecology, Otolaryngology,
Pediatrics, Pharmacy, Podiatry, Primary Care, Radiology
and Wound Management. Videoconferencing telemedicine
including: Primary Care, Emergency Medicine, Mental
Health and Physical Therapy.
Equipment:
AFHCAN
Telemedicine Software, Digital Cameras, Electrocardiograms,
Scanners, Spirometer, Tympanometer, Video Otoscope,
Vital Signs Monitor, Teleradiology Equipment, and
Polycom videoconferencing units.
Transmission:
Dedicated telephone line connectivity within
the Federal sector of Alaska. Bandwidth varies from
128 k to T1 depending on organization. The AFHCAN
Network utilizes a co-location facility to
link the major telephone carriers in Alaska.
The
Summative Telemedicine Evaluation Project
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
Alaska
Telemedicine Advisory Council
Tom Nighswander, MD
4141 Ambassador Drive
Anchorage, AK 99508
Ph: 907-729-3682
Fax: 907-729-1901
http://www.anthc.org
Email: tnighswander@anthc.org
Network
Partners:
The Alaska Telemedicine Advisory Council (ATAC) has
partnered with the University of Alaska
Fairbanks to conduct this project.
Project
Purpose:
The Summative Telemedicine Evaluation Project (STEP)
comprehensively evaluates the Alaska Federal Health
Care Access Network (AFHCAN), a 4-year project (1998-2002)
funded through OAT. STEP incorporates four perspectives
in evaluation: First, a rural provider perspective;
second, a technological perspective; third, a policy
and sustainability perspective; and fourth, providing
an international forum for rural health providers
to share lessons learned with telemedicine. An OAT
supplement supports the International Symposium on
Telehealth, and development of policy recommendations
and future plans.
Outcomes
Expected: STEP
outcomes include assessment of provider attitudes,
and shifts in attitudes and skills; changes in acceptance
of telemedicine initiatives; and analysis of changes
in rural Alaska
telecommunications infrastructure and services. Policy
recommendations will target difficult and multi jurisdictional
issues. The International Symposium will springboard
discussions about
evaluation of telemedicine initiatives and showcase
telehealth evaluations from around the world.
Service
Area: State of Alaska.
Services
Provided: The
project conducts a comprehensive evaluation of the
effectiveness of, and gaps in, telemedicine in Alaska.
The findings will form the basis for recommendations
for the future of
telemedicine in Alaska.
Equipment:
N/A
Transmission:
N/A |
