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Telemedicine Program
La Maestra’s Telemedicine Program is a state-of-the-art
strategy to address some of the challenges that patients
face when accessing specialty care services, such as
transportation, eligibility, translation and cultural
competency, and greatly improves their compliance rates,
allowing the patient to receive specialty care in their
“medical home” via telemedicine. A specialist in the
network, who is across town or in another country, can be
accessed and a treatment plan established, with the
patient being part of the solution.
La Maestra’s Medically Trained Cultural Liaisons at each
clinic site assist in the telemedicine process, which is
resulting in a more culturally-competent, seamless
delivery of care overall.
Through our program, mental health providers at La
Maestra’s main health center, often with a translator
present, have provided consultations for patients at its
satellite health centers as well as two rural health
clinics since 2005, to ensure that low income residents
have access to mental services not available in their
local community.
Since 2007, the telemedicine program has also expanded
access to Dermatology and Ear, Nose, and Throat
specialists, as well as Ophthalmology and Podiatry
specialists to improve treatment of La Maestra’s patients
with chronic diseases like diabetes.
With grants from Verizon and AT&T Foundations, La Maestra
purchased carts, cameras, lenses and scopes to enhance
specialty care and to expand the program’s ability to
conduct health education, teleconferencing, and
teletraining.
In 2010, our Health Education unit, located at the City
Heights site, began providing weekly classes for
Nutrition, Weight Management and Diabetes Management to
patients at our other locations, eliminating the time and
cost of transportation for patients and staff.
Grants in 2009 and 2010 from the AT&T Foundation and the
County’s Neighborhood Reinvestment Program allowed La
Maestra to purchase additional carts, monitors and scopes
to improve Telemedicine services at all of our satellites
and pay a Telemedicine Coordinator.
In early 2010, Cisco provided a HealthPresence pod with
high-definition cameras, scopes, and monitors through its
“California Telemedicine Pilot Project” to facilitate
expanded telemedicine services.
Also in 2010, the Center for Connected Health Policy
launched its Specialty Care Safety Net Initiative (SCSNI),
a telehealth demonstration project that connects safety
net clinics, including La Maestra, across California with
medical specialists at five University of California
Schools of Medicine for Dermatology, Endocrinology,
Hepatology, Neurology, Orthopedics, and Psychiatry
services. La Maestra also partners with Scripps Mercy
Hospitalīs Department of Cardiology to include the
specialty of Cardiology through Telemedicine.
The future goal is to continue expanding telemedicine to
bring more specialty providers and a wider range of
specialty care services into the community, including
Genetic Counseling, Neurology and Geriatrics to make these
specialty services more accessible.
