Rural Health - Telemedicine - KU Center

KU Center

Kansas is fortunate to be home to the Kansas University Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth (KUCTT) of the University of Kansas Medical Center.  The Center is a world leader in telemedicine activity and research and provides a wide variety of services to underserved areas across Kansas.  These include medical specialty consultations and clinics, school-based telehealth, continuing and community education, and video production to over 60 sites in the state.  To date, the KUCTT has facilitated more than 13,000 clinical consultations, with 3200 conducted in 2002 alone.

Telemedicine and telehealth are the terms used for services that involve health professionals and patients interacting via videoconferencing technology, much as if they were together in the same room.  This capability provides opportunities for patients to receive health care that they might not otherwise receive or for which they would have to travel long distances to obtain.  Having these services available in their local areas reduces stress to the patients and their families, and provides health and economic benefits to participating rural hospitals and communities. 

To continue understanding the benefits of health communication technologies and help improve the health care for Kansans, the Center is also active in procuring grant funding to implement and research innovative projects in the state.  Federal grant awards to the department have been received from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT), the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Agriculture.  Recently, a prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant was awarded to the KUCTT.  Additional funding has been received from the Kansas City-based Kaufman Foundation, the Wyandotte Health Foundation and the state of Kansas Children's Initiative Fund.    

A sample of the programs that KUCTT administers includes TeleKidcare®, Connected Kansas Kids, Telehealth for Kansans, and the Kansas Video Network.   For a complete listing of the Center's projects, services and contact information, please see its website.  For information about other KU Medical Center outreach activities, please see the website of KUCTT's home department, KU Health and Technology Outreach.  (URL to be forwarded when available)