University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System physicians will begin treating patients with lung nodules via telemedicine this month as part of a new pilot program aimed at improving early detection and treatment of lung cancer.
This project, the latest addition to the UAB eMedicine telehealth initiative, will focus on improving lung cancer treatment in rural communities.
"Our state has a very high incidence of lung cancer," Joseph Thachuthara-George, MD, co-director of UAB's interventional pulmonology program, said in a Feb. 17 news release. "The goal here is to decrease patient wait time and expedite their diagnosis and staging process so that treatment can be initiated."
The technology will be piloted at Centreville, Ala.-based Bibb Medical Center, where patients identified as having lung nodules will have a telemedicine consultation with UAB physicians. If the physicians determine that further care is needed, patients will undergo necessary procedures at UAB Hospital in Birmingham.
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