Cisco Technology Allows for Virtual Visits with Medical Specialists

Amanda Spencer’s young son, Jonathan, needs specialty medical care that isn’t available in the family’s hometown of Monterey, California. But through Cisco HealthPresence technology, Amanda and Jonathan can meet with a pediatric urologist at Stanford University, 80 miles away, without even leaving Monterey.

“In Monterey, it’s a small town and we really don’t have enough children in the community to support certain specialties,” Dr. Todd A. Dwelle, a pediatrician at the Pediatric Group of Monterey, said during an interview with KION-TV. “So this system allows areas such as ours that are underserved in that regard to bring in as needed pediatric specialists from Stanford.”

Pediatric Group of Monterey uses HealthPresence thanks to a partnership between Cisco and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.

Nurse practitioners on site at Pediatric Group of Monterey interact with patients and facilitate the virtual visits with physicians and specialists at Packard’s campus in Palo Alto.

“We can ask questions. He can reply, just like he was standing in the room,” Spencer said. “It’s just the same as a regular visit with a doctor present.”

Sixteen states have fewer than one pediatric subspecialist under age 65 per 100,000 residents, according to the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions. In Northern California, families sometimes wait as long as 9 months to see a pediatric specialist.

Cisco HealthPresence technology can help families reduce the cost and stress of seeking specialized pediatric care outside of their communities and allow doctors to conduct virtual consultations with out-of-area patients.

Watch the complete KION news report for more details.