Telemedicine in the state of Maine: a model for growth driven by rural needs

As of mid-2002, Maine had one of the largest state-wide telemedicine systems, comprising over 150 facilities among 90 health, mental health, and social service provider organizations in two collaborative networks. The rapid growth of telemedicine in this rural, economically disadvantaged state is largely attributable to collaborative development and the service activities of the Maine Telemedicine Services division of a rural community health center, HealthWays/Regional Medical Center at Lubec (RMCL). Annual clinical uses of the system across a broad array of interactive videoconferencing applications currently exceed 1,000 instances for institutional telemedicine and 800 instances for home telehealth. The major applications include mental health/psychiatry, endocrinology/diabetes management, primary care, specialty pediatrics, genetics, and dermatology. Primary care usage derives from a relatively novel use of a mobile telemedicine boat to serve small islands off mid-coastal Maine. Strong future growth is expected in prison telemedicine, emergency medical triage, and nontraditional services such as video relay interpretive services for the deaf, domestic violence advocacy and legal services, and case management for community reintegration of juvenile offenders. The relative success of the two large networks managed by RMCL's Maine Telemedicine Services is evident from the criteria that system usage (1) addresses defined clinical needs, (2) has demonstrable organizational support, (3) is accepted by physicians and patients, (4) exhibits measurable cost and clinical benefits, and (5) is moving toward sustainable operations. Potential bases for this success are discussed in comparison with other networks.