Telemedicine Struggles in Central Valley Amid Hope, Hardship

California Healthline
Monday, June 07, 2010
by Diana Marcum

KERMAN – Just getting to a clinic in the San Joaquin Valley is difficult for patients who come from surrounding far-flung farm towns.  There are no city buses where there are no cities. Agricultural fields stretch far, poverty runs deep and extended families often share one unreliable car.

"So many of our patients struggle with transportation. We send a van out twice a week, but when it comes to getting them to a specialist we're at a complete loss," said Jenny Mendez, clinic manager of  United Health Center in Kerman which serves many people who live 40 or 50 miles away.

It's this kind of need that makes telemedicine a tantalizing hope to the challenged region. But, despite grants, partnerships, and federal and state mandates, the San Joaquin Valley is lagging behind the rest of the state in linking patients to doctors in other locales. In many cases the equipment and the broadband is there, but the nitty-gritty details are foiling healthcare providers.

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