Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/1099222
t m c » p u l s e | a p r i l 2 0 1 9 16 Now, clinic officials want to determine whether virtual visits can maintain the standard of care where high-risk patients spend most of their time—at home. A Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute grant provided about $100,000 to support the clinic's two- year telemedicine study by funding software and data tracking. Many of the clinic's patients are on mechan- ical ventilation and require other equipment, Mosquera said, which make in-person visits stressful. "It's extremely difficult to do home visits all the time, so I said: Let's do telemedicine and take advantage of the technology," he said, adding that he always keeps the overall mission in focus: "We have to determine if telemedi- cine is safe for this population." Early data appears promising The research began in September with 365 patients. Half are now using telemedicine and the other half are continuing with their regu- lar clinic appointments. "We wanted to make sure the technology was good, that we could see the patient well, we did not lose the signal and we wanted to be HIPAA-compliant," Mosquera said, referring to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which requires the privacy and security of patient information. The first interim data analysis in early March showed promising results. "So far, we know we are not harming the patients," Mosquera said. "If you prescribe medicine over telemedicine without putting your hand on the patient, [the fear is] maybe you are going to miss something or maybe you're going to create more problems. I don't think that's the case. I think it's going to be good for the patients, but it's important to do the study to demon- strate that to people and to convince the payers in the future that this is a safe way to save money and to improve outcomes in the patients." Telemedicine reduces in-person visits For Cheryl Lingenfelter, telemedi- cine has been a life-changing and time-saving advantage. Her hus- band, James Lingenfelter, works as a brass instrument repair technician and professional musician while she home-schools their three older children and cares for Nathan. "I've always just believed that whatever God brought into my life, he would give me the ability to do," Cheryl said. "I couldn't do this without the High Risk Clinic." Nathan has been a clinic patient since 2015 after a six-week stay at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital for respiratory failure. Telemedicine allows Mosquera to adjust Nathan's breathing sup- ports more often without increasing the frequency of in-person visits. "With telemedicine, we change his respiratory settings every week," the physician said. "He doesn't have to wait until the next visit with me. I can help him. I can support him bet- ter. The main thing with Nathan is that sometimes he doesn't take deep Cheryl Lingenfelter is the primary caregiver for Nathan, who was brain-damaged after losing consciousness as an infant.