The Expositor - Sparta Tennessee > News > Inmate medical delivered via teleconferencing (http://www.spartaexpositor.com/articles/2008/03/13/news/doc47d930f58e2fb727683185.txt)

Is this our medical care of the future, doctor by computer. Not even in the same building

Yep Padre, that is already how they do it in California prisons at least to some extent. It's how my daughter, in the Central California Women's Facility, receives most of her doctor 'visits.'

I bet the universal type health care the Democratic candidates want will likely result in more hassles and doctors making less money, so fewer will get into the business and more will retire early or change fields. MANY doctors now refuse new Medicare or Medicaid patients now because of the hassles and because they can't afford it. Getting the feds more involved will only make that worse, so with fewer doctors how else would they be able to handle their patients far and wide? You guessed it, video teleconferencing and internet 'visits.'

But hey, maybe a virtual rectal exam would be less uncomfortable and humiliating? :D

Oh, heck, we've been doing that for quite a while here in West Tenn. But not in correctional facilities, actually in hospitals.

It is usually done in rural hospitals when the patient is too unstable to transfer to a higher level facility.

I'll give you an example of why it is so wonderful.

While hospitalized a child develops a dangerous fever, it is diagnosed as an ear infection, but there are no ENT specialists in this rural hospital. Due to certain unstabilities, the child is not a candidate for transfer. An ENT in a high level facility can "look" in the child's ear via an otoscope. This is much better actually than being in-person as the ENT can enlarge images, zoom in on the tympanic membrane and ear canal, etc, where we cannot do that with a simple otoscope.

It's amazing really.

Did not really think it is wrong, I ask so few questions, when I find something of interest I try and ask something every now and then.

I just did not know they did this,

Yeah, it's really amazing to watch. I got to see it my first semester in school and I was ASTONISHED to say the least.