Web-based program
links health facilities
Community health centers on the neighbor islands will be able to access pediatric specialists on Oahu through a telehealth consultation network based at Kapiolani Medical Center, the Pacific Telehealth & Technology Hui announced.
The Hui is collaborating with Kapiolani, Tripler Army Medical Center, the University of Hawaii Department of Pediatrics, John A. Burns School of Medicine and the Hawaii Primary Care Association to establish the system.
Called PATH, for Pacific Asynchronous TeleHealth, the Web-based program enables primary-care physicians to consult with specialists over the Internet.
The technology was developed initially through a federally funded project known as the Electronic Children's Hospital of the Pacific, which enabled military health-care providers in remote Pacific areas to consult pediatric specialists at Tripler.
Dr. Stanley Saiki Jr., hui director, said, "We are looking forward to sharing taxpayer- funded innovations, built for the federal government, with the community."
He said the goal is to make telemedicine widely available to Hawaii's health care providers. The system is part of a federally supported program to develop a community-based pediatrics collaborative in Hawaii.
The collaborative has initiated a postdoctoral fellowship in community pediatrics, first in the nation, and a pediatric residency rotation at health care clinics in Hawaii.
The Pacific Telehealth & Technology Hui was formed in 1999 under agreement with the Department of Defense Pacific Regional Medical Command at Tripler and the Veteran Affairs Pacific Islands Health Care System.
The hui also announced development of a Web-based interface that allows Tripler clinicians to see a veteran's patient records online for the first time.
The interface, starting this month, is named Janus, for the Roman god of gateways and doors, the hui said.
The Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense operate with separate health information systems at Tripler.