FRANK ROCCO
Marketing Director
News & Resources
Free Online Medical Care for Underserved Areas
Through the Global Pandemic and Beyond
Global Telehealth Network Offers Medical, Surgical and Mental Health Consults for Health Workers in:
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Hospitals & clinics in
under-resourced countries
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Refugee settlements
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Conflict zones
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Centers for victims of human trafficking
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Free clinics in the U.S.
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Remote rural areas, including Native American and Alaska Native
tribal lands
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Disaster areas
How GTN works
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When health workers on the ground ("Local Providers") need help diagnosing and treating patients, they enter their findings into the electronic health record, log in to GTN’s website, upload their consultation requests and indicate the degree of urgency.
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GTN matches the patient and Local Provider with the most appropriate Consulting Physician who can be available at the required time.
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The Consulting Physician meets with the Local Provider through real-time, online videoconferencing.
GTN solutions for global healthcare challenges:
Initial Pilot Projects
Uganda
GTN’s pilot projects in Uganda involve five sites.
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Kawolo General Hospital is a referral facility where nurses and Clinical Officers at 53 small Health Centres and hospitals send patients for whom they can’t provide adequate care at the remote facilities.
However, among Kawolo Hospital’s 12 doctors, they have only two specialists –
a surgeon and a gynecologist. Therefore, patients with more complex problems need to be transported to the major medical center in Kampala.
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As the first step in development of an in-country telehealth network, the health workers at three of those remote facilities – as well as at a school clinic on the far side
of the country – will be able to request consultations through the Global Telehealth Network website.
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If no one in-country has the expertise and availability to help, the consult will be provided by one of GTN’s international physician volunteers.
Kenya
The pilot projects in Kenya involve four sites.
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Matibabu Foundation Hospital, in far-western Kenya, is an 8-hour drive from the medical centers in Nairobi, which makes referrals to specialists difficult or impossible.
When the doctors at Matibabu Hospital encounter patients with difficult problems, they now will be able to obtain online specialty consultations through the Global Telehealth Network. When possible, they will be matched with specialists in Kenya, but if no physician with the necessary expertise is available in-country, GTN will connect them with a member of its international panel of volunteers.
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The hospital’s doctors will also be able to provide consults to assist nurses working in small rural clinics, including two community health centers in the Maasai Mara and a school health clinic located 1-hour away from the hospital.
GTN’s volunteer physicians and psychologists provide free online help for people who have limited access to healthcare.
GTN offers services to areas of the world where many people now live their lives without ever seeing a doctor. We can also help in underserved areas in the United States.”
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– Jack Higgins, MD
President & Chief Medical Officer
Global Telehealth Network
