A picture can be worth a thousand words -- and for doctors in Barron – they've got a new piece of technology that fits this old adage perfectly.

We visited Luther Midelfort’s Barron branch and to learn how a videoconferencing system called telemedicine is changing the face of rural medicine.

This new system is opening up doors for doctors in rural areas, who have smaller staffs, to have access to doctors and surgeons at Luther Midelfort in Eau Claire.

Bill Price grew up in West Virginia at a time when medicine wasn't as advanced as it is these days. He remembers, “Even a small medical problem or even pneumonia was a killer when I was a kid.”

But when Bill's lung collapsed a few weeks ago -- doctors in Barron, with the help of telemedicine were able to fix him right up.

Physicians Assistant John Graykoski says, “We needed to get a tube into the chest to basically remove the air that had caused the lung to collapse -- and that procedure was done on camera with emergency room physicians and Luther supervising.”

Graykoski says having that extra pair of eyes can make all the difference in a difficult case like Bill's.

He says, “They guide it so they can see exactly what they want -- and it all happens instantaneously.”

Bill says, “I thought it was fascinating, I think the medical profession is going now where we can live wherever we want to live -- and still be treated as if we lived in a major metropolis.”

And doctors say bringing specialty care to more rural areas is one of the goals of telemedicine.

Dr. Alex Beuning is the regional director of the emergency department at Luther Midelfort, he told us over videoconference, “As we know -- the cost of healthcare is very high and I think this is one of the ways we can spread specialty care to sites that don't have it -- increasing care without increasing costs.”

Dr. Beuning also says the most useful part of the technology is the addition of sight.

He says, “I've been on both ends both at a regional hospital and Luther and I know very well that it's hard to communicate all that information on a telephone call -- so it's true that a picture truly is worth a thousands words at times.
Another cool thing about telemedicine -- it's been used for several years already to serve specialty area's like dermatology -- and even psychology -- with patients having entire sessions over the webcam.

And so far, the only Luther Midelfort branches to have telemedicine are in Barron and Bloomer.