WHAT IS TELEMEDICINE?
“Telemedicine encompasses a broad range of different applications,” says Dr. Knight, CHOC pediatric critical care specialist and telemedicine expert. In a nutshell, telemedicine, also sometimes called telehealth, is the delivery of health care services using telecommunications or electronic technology. Telemedicine can involve video and audio equipment to assess a patient remotely, patient portals, remote monitoring of vital signs, the use of smartphones and tablets and remote medical education efforts. Telehealth also can include giving consumers medical and health information via the Internet or wireless devices, including access to online discussion or peer support groups.
CHOC AND TELEMEDICINE
CHOC has become a leader in telemedicine nationwide. “The way we utilize telemedicine at CHOC is to help assess and triage patients in settings outside of our own walls. Most hospitals do not have telemedicine capabilities that would allow a pediatric specialist to provide assessment and triage remotely,” explained Dr. Knight. “Our experts can assess patients in emergency departments at other hospitals with a mobile telemedicine unit called the RP-Xpress that the CHOC transport team takes with them into the field. The RP-Xpress works through Wi-Fi or a cellular signal and allows a specialist back at CHOC to evaluate the patient using both video and audio. That assessment happens sooner than if we had waited until the patient arrived at CHOC and it may determine if the patient needs intervention right away.”
FAST FACTS
Dr. Jason Knight is the Medical Director of the CHOC Emergency Transport Services Program and an Assistant Clinical Professor at UC Irvine. He completed his residency training, including a year as chief resident, at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. He completed a three-year fellowship program in pediatric critical care medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and CHOC. Under Dr. Knight’s leadership, the CHOC Transport team has become one of the busiest pediatric transport teams in the nation, able to pick up patients from 130 different hospitals throughout California. The transport team also arranges long distance and out-of-state transports via both rotor and fixed-wing aircraft.
Dr. Knight’s philosophy of care: “I believe all children deserve to receive world-class care at a children’s hospital. For many children that care begins with CHOC’s Emergency Transport Services Team. Our team is truly an extension of CHOC and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and I take great pride in our team’s ability to assess, resuscitate and stabilize patients before they arrive at CHOC.”
EDUCATION
Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia
BOARD CERTIFICATIONS
Pediatric Critical Care
Thanks to the power of telemedicine, CHOC physicians are able to remotely assess and monitor a patient from miles away.
CHOC began integrating telemedicine about seven years ago with the use of remote robots located in the Hoag Hospital Newport Beach Emergency Department, which allowed CHOC doctors to offer consultations for pediatric patients set to be transferred to CHOC.
In this video, Dr. Jason Knight, a critical care specialist and medical director of CHOC’s Emergency Transport Services, discusses how CHOC physicians and the transport team use telemedicine to improve care of children. Watch for a demonstration of this remarkable technology that is advancing how CHOC physicians practice, and aiding CHOC’s ability to care for children beyond Orange County. For more information, go to https://choc.org/wp/emergency
No parent imagines having to leave the hospital without their newborn. For those parents who have to keep their little ones in the neonatal intensive care unit at CHOC at Mission Hospital for treatment, however, there is now special technology to ensure families can be together and bond with their newborns when they can’t be at the bedside.
Kids and Tonsils
Tonsils are removed much less frequently than in the past, but removal may be necessary under specific circumstances. There are two predominant reasons for removing tonsils and/or adenoids in children.
Kids and Living with Food Allergies
A food allergy usually occurs in the first two years of life, says Dr. Ellis, a CHOC Allergy and Immunology Specialist. “It’s important to know that allergic reactions to food typically occur immediately or within two hours of eating the food,” Dr. Ellis explains.
What Parents Need to Know About Cleft Palate Repair
Cleft lip and cleft palate are craniofacial anomalies of the mouth and lip that occur early in utero when the sides of the lip and the roof of the mouth do not fuse together as they should.
