Linking UAB physicians with underserved populations

A sophisticated videoconferencing system linking UAB radiation oncologists with underserved, minority, and low-income populations is designed to improve these patients' access to clinical trials and the latest cancer therapies. Located in the basement conference room of UAB's Wallace Tumor Institute, the Telesynergy® system includes an Olympus microscope, patient exam camera, color video printer, radiology monitors, audio equipment, and peripheral devices that display high-resolution real-time or stored images from multiple medical modalities.

A 5-year, $3.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Disparities Research Partnerships Program (CDRP) brought the system to UAB, radiation oncologist Sharon Spencer, MD, says. "By linking larger cancer centers with institutions in rural and historically underserved areas, we hope to reduce cancer disparities in minorities and low-income populations, who often have high rates of disease and limited access to national research protocols."

Through CDRP, UAB is partnering with the Singing River Hospital Regional Cancer Center in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Dr. Spencer and UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center colleagues are collaborating with Singing River radiation oncologist Raymond Wynn, MD, who is principal investigator for the CDRP grant, on protocols investigating metastatic brain tumors, prostate screening, intensity modulated radiation therapy for head and neck cancer, and unresectable lung cancer.

"With Telesynergy, we can examine patients at a distance, consult about treatment plans, screen for clinical trials, and determine whether patients are candidates for procedures such as gamma knife surgery," she says. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliant system transmits high-quality diagnostic radiologic and pathologic images and allows physicians to remotely manipulate biopsy specimens.

"This grant allows us to partner with nationally renowned experts," Dr. Wynn says. "We can continue our goal of comprehensive care close to home because now, in many cases, our patients won't have to leave the area to see a consulting physician or get a second opinion."

Mona Fouad, MD, MPH, principal investigator on more than $40 million in federal grants aimed at improving health and preventing disease among minorities, and Edward Partridge, MD, principal investigator for the Deep South Network for Cancer Control, are consulting with UAB investigators working on the CDRP grant. "Drs. Fouad and Partridge have much experience with underserved populations and are successful in getting these traditionally hard-to-recruit groups to participate in prevention studies," Dr. Spencer says. "They are advising our group on techniques for recruitment and patient navigation."

CDRP grants link five other major cancer centers with partner institutions: University of Southern California in Los Angeles with Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Inglewood, California; University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio with Laredo Medical Center in Laredo, Texas; Rapid City Regional Hospital in South Dakota with University of Wisconsin in Madison; University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-McKeesport in Pennsylvania with Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri; and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with New Hanover Medical Center in Wilmington, North Carolina.

UAB's system can connect with any U.S. or international site with a Telesynergy system, Dr. Spencer says. "Telesynergy is available to our UAB colleagues who are working with groups at these institutions on research, education, or clinical matters," she says. "The system's superior clarity makes it a great tool for medical consultation and education, and we hope the UAB community will explore creative ways to put this exceptional equipment to good use. We are excited that true telemedicine has come to UAB." Contact grant administrator Kristina Sinclair at 975-0869 or ksinclair@uabmc.edu for more information or to schedule a Telesynergy session.