Surgical Telementoring Initiation of a Regional Telemedicine Network: Projection of Surgical Expertise in the WWAMI Region

Surgical telementoring represents an advanced form of telemedicine, whereby an experienced surgeon can guide and teach practicing surgeons new operative techniques utilizing current enabling video, robotics, and telecommunications technology. In the Pacific Northwest, concentration of subspecialty expertise in the only major medical school servicing the WWAMI(named after 5 states: Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho) region offers a compelling opportunity for developing a surgical telemedicine program. This paper reports on a surgical telementoring initiation of a regional telemedicine network as the surgical telemedicine program aiming at eventual projection of surgical expertise in the WWAMI region based on the SOCRATESTM, a FDA approved robotic telecollaborative system. A collaborative research project with University of Washington (UW) Office of Telemedicine, UW Surgery and Electrical Engineering, UW Medical Center(Seattle, WA, USA), and Grays Harbor Community Hospital (Aberdeen, WA, USA), is introduced in this paper.