THE PINE RIDGE MAYO NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION TELEMEDICINE PROJECT - PROGRAM ACTIVITIES AND PARTICIPANT REACTIONS

Objective: To determine the response of participants to the Pine Ridge -Mayo National Aeronautics and Space Administration telemedicine proje ct. Design: We describe a 3-month demonstration project of medical edu cation and clinical consultations conducted by means of satellite tran smission, Post-participation questionnaires and a postproject survey w ere used to assess the success of the activity. Material and Methods: Patients and employees at the Pine Ridge Indian Health Service Hospita l in southwestern South Dakota and employees at Mayo Clinic Rochester participated in a telemedicine project, after which they completed exi t surveys and a postproject questionnaire to ascertain the acceptabili ty of this mode of health care. Results: Almost all Pine Ridge and May o Clinic participants viewed the project as beneficial, The educationa l sessions received favorable evaluations, and almost two-thirds of th e patients who completed evaluations thought the consultation had cont ributed to their medical care. More than 90% of the respondents from P ine Ridge and more than 85% of the respondents from Mayo Clinic Roches ter said that they would recommend participation in this project to ot hers, More than 90% of respondents from Pine Ridge and 80% of Mayo res pondents agreed with the statement that the project should continue. C onclusion: These data suggest that a program of clinical consultation services, professional education, and patient education available by t elemedicine might be viewed as beneficial.