Few schools in Missouri are capable of giving students direct access to health care specialists for treatment of conditions like diabetes and asthma.
Rep. Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia, believes this is a problem that needs a low-cost solution. The freshman lawmaker filed House Bill 340 on Jan. 5 to provide students in Missouri schools the opportunity to hear health experts through telehealth services. These services allow practitioners to video conference with patients, preventing long travel and wait times.
Approved telehealth services are already part of the MO HealthNet program, and therefore the cost is reimbursed through Medicaid. Chapter 208 of Missouri Revised Statutes approve specific locations for HealthNet participants to receive telehealth services such as hospitals, rural health clinics, dialysis centers and community mental health centers. These approved locations are called "originating sites."
Kendrick's bill would add schools to the list of originating sites, which would allow for reimbursement of services rendered by specialists. Participation in the program would be optional for both schools and practitioners, he said.
"I have a vision," Kendrick said, "not necessarily just getting the bill across the finish line, but to get it implemented across the state."
On Jan. 16, Kendrick traveled to Chesterfield to visit Mercy Virtual Care Center for what he called a "mind-blowing" tour. Mercy constructed the first virtual care center in the world, according to Mercy Telehealth. The center, a 120,000-square-foot facility, is expected to open to the public this summer. The virtual center will host nearly 300 physicians. In its first three years, it plans to administer more than 3 million telehealth visits, according to Mercy Telehealth.
While in St. Louis, Kendrick also visited Roosevelt High School where Mercy hosts a pilot telehealth school-based clinic. The clinic consists of two exam rooms inside the high school with a wall-mounted television connected to a computer and a pan-tilt zoom camera, said Wendy Deibert, vice president of Mercy Telehealth Services. The program uses the interface Vidyo for its video conferencing services, allowing students in front of the webcam to connect virtually with Mercy specialists. The equipment used at the clinic costs about $15,000, Deibert said.
The clinic opened in August 2012 with funding provided by Mercy and a grant from the Boeing Company. Roosevelt High School's pilot program is predominantly focused on providing mental health services to students, working mostly with psychologists. A nurse practitioner is stationed in the room to assist the students during conferences.
The clinic was developed at Roosevelt out of necessity, Deibert said. The school hosts students who speak a combined 14 languages. With such diversity, the students have an abundance of emotional needs, Deibert said. Budget cuts have also led to the necessity of the clinic.
"One of the positions that gets cut frequently is school nurses," Deibert said. "So this will be a way to provide every school with access to health care."
Mercy is preparing to open four more health-based clinics in Catholic schools in downtown St. Louis, Deibert said. These schools currently don't have nurses, so any health care services are beneficial.
"Often there is not a lot of help with these kids," Deibert said. "It is exciting that this is going to be available. It makes access to care easier for the students and their parents."
Under current law, Mercy cannot be reimbursed through MO HealthNet for its services at Roosevelt High School, nor at any other school in Missouri. Kendrick said he hopes his bill and future legislation will allow students affordable access to the health care they need through telehealth services.
"I do believe that there will be several bills over the next several sessions that help catch the regulations up to technology and expand access to health care," Kendrick said.