Technology Helps Deliver Medical Care To Wisconsin’s Rural Areas

Twenty-one health centers in rural and underserved parts of Wisconsin have been awarded state grants to improve care with telemedicine equipment that allows a doctor to see and hear a patient in a different location.

The nearly $1 million in Public Service Commission grants comes from a fund designed to ensure all state residents receive essential telecommunications services.

Several of the health centers applied for funds for specialized carts holding a computer and medical equipment, according to Jeff Richter, who oversees the PSC’s Universal Fund.

“So, rather than putting in fixed facilities and moving patients into rooms that can use the telemedicine, they instead have the cart and they can move the cart from room to room,” explained Richter. “And so they’re able to essentially bring it to the room of the patient who needs the care but is observed remotely.”

The state has given out grants for telemedicine since 2001.