The project will pioneer the use of telemedicine for the immediate evaluation and treatment of acute burn injuries in the mountainous west. The potential for improved survival, reduced costs, and enhanced outcomes for patients treated at modern burn centers are undisputed. However, the expertise needed to obtain such outcomes has become increasingly centralized within a diminishing number of burn centers in the United States. The Intermountain Burn Center at the University of Utah is the only such facility available for a five-state region (Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and northern Nevada), encompassing one-fifth of the geographical area of the continental United States.
In this region, rural residents, children, the elderly, those living in poverty, and some Native Americans are known to suffer an increased risk of burn injuries, but their access to burn treatment is restricted by distance and resources. Even when such patients can reach local hospitals, physicians may have limited familiarity with burn treatment. As a result, significant under- and over-triage occurs. At worst, such errors can be fatal; at the very least, they are tremendously costly and inefficient. In addition, few resources are available to assist patients who are not transported, or for those following discharge.
The project will provide three partner hospitals with high quality, real-time video and audio telemedicine technology, and develop protocols to evaluate burn injuries remotely. Using this system, emergency physicians in Boise, Idaho, Helena, Montana, and Billings, Montana, will be able to contact the Intermountain Burn Center physicians immediately and transmit secure, detailed images. These images will permit experienced clinicians at the Intermountain Burn Center to make detailed diagnoses quickly. This information will guide initial decisions regarding fluid resuscitation, airway control, topical care, and the need for and urgency of transport. Using telemedicine in acute burn care will reduce financial and other burdens to patients and their families.
