BREWER – Telemedicine is nothing new in Maine, but a flurry of recent grant funding will significantly extend its high-tech reach in the northern part of Maine. New uses may include “virtual intensive care units” at community hospitals and electronic evaluation of emergency room patients.

Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, based in Brewer, announced this week it will receive an infusion of about $600,000 in federal funds, which will be used to improve and expand the use of telemedicine technology in the nine-county area it serves.

Telemedicine uses a system of cameras, monitors, computers and other electronic equipment to connect patients in remote areas with medical experts at a centralized health care hub. In northern Maine, that hub is Eastern Maine Medical Center, the largest of EMHS’ seven affiliated hospitals and the second-largest hospital in the state.

Jean Mellett, director of planning at EMHS, said Tuesday that a recent survey of health care needs in the region confirms a growing shortage of both primary care providers and medical specialists, especially in the most rural communities of northern Maine. The report correlates with increased rates of hospitalization of northern Mainers with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, respiratory conditions and certain mental disorders.

The goal of expanding computer-based telemedicine services, Mellett said, is to help keep people out of the hospital by improving the care they can get close to home – both front-line primary care and the more specialized services of psychiatrists, trauma experts, pediatricians, urologists and others whose skills are in short supply.

“Anything we can do to help with chronic disease management or improve access to specialized care is important to do,” Mellett said.

Telemedicine has been in use in Maine for several years, primarily allowing patients served by rural primary care practices to be seen by specialists. Home care providers have also used the technology, placing simple computer-based video equipment in patient homes and making online “visits” from their offices. Mental health service providers are among the most common users of telemedicine technology.

Mellett said the new funding will be used to improve existing services and to develop new applications. For example, she said, some of the money will be spent in connecting emergency rooms at small rural hospitals to EMMC so specialists there can help determine whether a patient can be effectively cared for at the local facility. Home care services will be upgraded with more sophisticated equipment that can monitor a patient’s blood sugar, blood pressure, weight and other vital statistics and transmit the information directly to health providers, she said.

Other uses include developing virtual intensive care units at some small community hospitals, enabling intensive care specialists at EMMC to monitor the status of critically ill patients without transferring them to Bangor. EMMC will start testing the virtual ICU technology in January with a goal of implementing the new service at one of its smaller affiliates in the spring or summer of 2008.

Mellett said improvements in telemedicine also will enhance continuing education and professional conference opportunities for health practitioners in rural areas.

Meg Haskell may be reached at mhaskell@bangordailynews.net or 990-8291.