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TECHNOLOGY
Telemedicine Bridges the Gap
and is made by Intouch Health. It is made to be light
and easily moved around. Although this model is not
independently mobile, other models allow physicians
to move the robot with a joystick they plug into their
computer. The robot has a built-in stethoscope, so Dr.
Kavanaugh can read a patient’s pulse in real time. It al-
lows both Dr. Kavanaugh and the local nurse to access
electronic medical records to edit information or change
prescriptions.
Telemedicine has made its way into other forms of
medicine as well, including psychiatry, dermatology,
inpatient care, critical care, emergency medicine and
radiology.
Dr. Kavanaugh spends one morning each week seeing
his patients in Orofino; he can usually see six to eight
patients in that time. He also commutes to Orofino once
each month to see patients in person—something he’s
been doing since 1994.
“Right now I’m only using telemedicine to see patients
in Orofino,” he said. “But I can definitely see this system
expanding in the future.”
By Andrea Kalas-Nagel
TELEMEDICINE CAN BE DEFINED IN A FEW
ways. It can be an over-the-phone consultation, video
chatting or—in some northern Idaho hospitals—using
a robot.
Kevin Kavanaugh, M.D., withHeart Clinics Northwest,
is based in Coeur d’Alene. But thanks to telemedicine, he
is able to see patients in Orofino weekly without having
to travel.
“Using the robot I can do everything that I would
normally be able to do at a follow-up appointment, except
touch them,” he said. “There’s a nurse at the other end
who takes vitals for me and helps to examine the patient
when necessary.”
Dr. Kavanaugh has been using telemedicine in Orofino
for over three years. He said that patients typically like
it and appreciate not having to travel for appointments.
“I use the robot mostly for follow-up appointments and
occasionally new patient evaluations,” Dr. Kavanaugh
said. “After a minute or so it feels like you’re right there
with the patients—and there’s really no voice delay.”
The robot used by Dr. Kavanaugh is called the RP-Lite
D O C T O R S A R E U S I N G T H I S N E W T E C H N O L O G Y T O
M E E T W I T H P A T I E N T S F A C E - T O - F A C E — E V E N W H E N
T H E Y A R E M I L E S A P A R T
KEEP
YOUR
HEART
HEALTHY
The key to preventing
cardiovascular disease is
managing risk factors such
as high blood pressure and
high cholesterol. Ask your
doctor to tell you more about
your personal risk factors
and prevention.
Kevin Kavanaugh, M.D.
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