Deputy Public Health Secretary Joseph Santos said CUC still sends x-ray examination results to hospitals on Guam and Hawaii that have resident radiologists.
CHC has been using teleradiology since 1998 because it is more expensive to hire a radiologist — it will cost the government $200,000 to $500,000 annually, Santos said.
Five years ago, he said CHC was connected to the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Hawaii, but CHC’s telemedicine equipment broke down.
The equipment cost $30,000 and was acquired through a federal grant, Santos said.
CHC has been considering telemedicine even before Continental Airlines ended its Saipan-Manila flight service.
Most of the hospital’s medical referral patients are sent to the Philippine capital.
Santos said they have to increase the medical referral program budget in order to sustain it.
CHC has to charter a helicopter to Guam if a patient needs immediate care.
On Guam, the Telemedicine Act of 2008 allows its licensed doctors to electronically consult with physicians licensed in the U.S.
The new law “allows people to access medical expertise that would otherwise not be available on Guam.”
Santos said the Veterans Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs has expressed willingness to implement a telemedicine program on Saipan.
While the program is initially intended only for U.S. veterans, Santos said the commonwealth will ask the federal government to extend the services to non-veteran patients.
