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International Physician Update
| FROM THE CEO |
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| January 2005 |
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What We Don't Know
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| Steve Thompson, CEO of Johns Hopkins International and Senior Vice President, Johns Hopkins Medicine. |
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A US business executive recently suffered a heart attack while traveling in Latin America and had to be taken to one of the leading private hospitals in the country. Physicians were unsure whether the patient needed to be sent back to the United States, and they requested a teleconsultation with Hopkins’ Division of Cardiology to determine the best course of treatment.
After reviewing the angiography, doctors in both countries agreed that the patient should remain in the good hands of the Latin American doctors. The patient was reassured; the local physician was pleased to have his decision supported by a colleague at a major internationalcenter; and the Hopkins cardiologist felt fulfilled by the opportunity to expand his patient care mission beyond Baltimore.
This incident also shows how increased access to affordable videoconferencing technology is changing our global health care system. This kind of knowledge exchange enables all of us to benefit from the ever-increasing rate of biomedicaldiscovery. When health care information is changing every day, we must take advantage of every opportunity to utilize the latest advances in medicine.
In our last issue, we told you about how faculty in our Division of Neuroradiology are providing MRI interpretations to colleagues in Bermuda through electronic MRI consults. In this issue, you’ll learn about our GlobalAccess Lectures, a remote learning program we instituted to facilitate the exchange of information between faculty from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and physicians around the globe. If you are interested in learning more about our telehealth programs, please contact Alexander Nason at anason@jhmi.edu or 410-955-1959.
Please enjoy this issue devoted to advances in neurology and neurosurgery. I also want to take this opportunity to wish all of you a happy, healthy and productive New Year.
Sincerely,
Steven J. Thompson
CEO
Johns Hopkins International
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