Telemedicine Program at Drew

NEED LEADS TO INNOVATION

Telemedicine in the inner city started with five ophthalmologists at King/Drew Medical Center who had to find a way to care for 1.5 million people in South Central Los Angeles
The doctors were frustrated by waiting times of up to 6 months for ophthalmology appointments, even for patients at risk of losing their eyesight.
This pioneering group of physicians decided that if the people couldn't come to the clinic, they would find a way to bring these health care services to the people.

SOLUTION: STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY

To overcome the barriers limiting patient access to health care in South Central Los Angeles, these physicians began deploying telemedicine as a health care delivery solution in 1996.
Technology used by the space program and the Department of Defense was applied where it was needed the most: in the underserved, impoverished urban communities of South Los Angeles.

FIRST CLINIC ESTABLISHED IN 1996

Three telemedicine clinics were established in three CDC housing communities located within the King/Drew Medical Center service area to improve access to medical subspecialty care.
The first clinic was brought online in 1996 in the Carmelitos community, located in North Long Beach. In 1999, the Nueva Maravilla community telemedicine clinic opened in East Los Angeles, and in 2000 the doors of the Mary Henry Telemedicine Clinic in South Central opened.

GROWING TO MEET COMMUNITY NEED

Ophthalmology was the first specialty service delivered across the telemedicine network. This was our first step toward developing an urban telemedicine network that would serve as a model for addressing the unmet health care needs of medically underserved urban communities.
Addition of the Mary Henry Clinic represents the commitment to grow this program to include a broad range of specialty services - for example: cardiology, asthma/allergy, and dental - all accessible from local community clinics.