Arizona Telemedicine Program

Dr. Weinstein has had a career-long interest in telemedicine. He trained at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard at the time that the first multi-service telemedicine program was established between Logan Airport and the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. In 1986, Dr. Weinstein invented robotic telepathology for which he holds US Patents. His Telepathology Research Laboratory at Rush Medical College, in Chicago, where he was Department Head for 15 years prior to coming to Arizona, carried out pioneering research on the diagnostic accuracy of telepathology, developed the first robotic telemedicine application, and designed the first commercial robotic telepathology system. In 1992, Dr. Weinstein established the Arizona International Telemedicine Network which provided telepathology consultations in Mexico and China. His work was widely acknowledged and, in 1993, Dr. Weinstein was invited to give the opening lecture at the First International Conference on Clinical Applications of Telemedicine, in Tromso, Norway. The Dean of the Arizona College of Medicine, Dr. James E. Dalen, gave a lecture on “Rural Healthcare” at the same meeting. Thus, there was significant interest in telemedicine in Arizona prior to the establishment of the Arizona Telemedicine Program.

In 1996, the Legislature of the State of Arizona funded the Arizona Telemedicine Program and mandated that it provide telemedicine services to a broad range of healthcare service users including geographically isolated communities, Indian tribes, and Department of Corrections rural prisons. Leveraging the state startup funds, the Arizona Telemedicine Program succeeded in obtaining additional funding and support from many healthcare systems, state agencies, federal grant programs, and third party payors.

Currently the Arizona Telemedicine Program is providing medical services via both real-time and store-and-forward technologies in twenty communities. This year, 500 hours of continuing medical education and continuing education will be delivered to thirty-four communities using bi-direction video conferencing. The Arizona Telemedicine Program has created two additional statewide programs, Project Nightingale and e-Healthcare Arizona. Project Nightingale, created by Dr. Weinstein, is a unique, dedicated broadband healthcare infrastructure which functions as a telecommunications collaborative providing access to T-1/ATM telecommunications on a private network throughout the state on a cost-sharing basis. e-Healthcare Arizona provides state agencies with a vehicle for collaborating on various programs in disease prevention, public education, correctional telemedicine and, more recently, children's healthcare and home health nursing. In addition, the Arizona Telemedicine Program has recently instituted innovative programs in home health care for patients with artificial hearts awaiting transplantation, patients requiring ostomy home-nursing services, and children in need of occupational and physical therapy. Telenursing services are being implemented in Phoenix schools.

Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of the Arizona Telemedicine Program has been to create strong ties between the University of Arizona College of Medicine, various healthcare providers, and the state legislature. Bridges built between state agencies, local governments and legislative bodies are fostering a high level of awareness of the importance of telemedicine and e-health to achieving the state's healthcare goals. The program also serves as a platform upon which the state's only College of Medicine can demonstrate its value to exceptionally broad constituencies throughout Arizona and the nation as a clinical research center, a tertiary care facility, and as an educational institution.