Carol Schoener, clinical educator at Hospice of Michigan, demonstrates the equipment that wil be used in the Telehospice project, a collaborative effort of MSU and Hospice of Michigan.

Connecting face-to-face in real time will be possible 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week for Hospice of Michigan patients and their clinical team as part of a study being conducted by MSU research-ers and Hospice of Michigan.

Using standard telephone lines and interactive video technology, including speaker phone, mini-video camera and television monitors, patients will have the opportunity to call members of their Hospice of Michigan interdisciplinary team for a video consult regarding their care at any time of day or night.

During the research project, called Telehospice, MSU researchers will study the use of the interactive video technology as part of a care program for 40 Hospice of Michigan patients during a two-year period.

The goal of the study, which is funded, in part, by a grant from the National Telecommunication and Information Administration, is to examine the use of technology to eliminate barriers, including geography and cost, to quality end-of-life care.

"Using this technology, Hospice of Michigan teams will be able to consult with families face-to-face, although they may be separated by dozens or hundreds of miles" said Pamela Whitten, assistant professor of telecommunication and lead researcher on the project.

"When problems or questions arise" Whitten said, "the hospice doctor, nurse or social worker can see and talk to the patient and family by using the Telehospice equipment, assess the situation and respond more quickly than if they had to drive to the location."

The equipment will be provided to patients at no charge, and the cost of local toll calls and intrastate Telehospice calls will be paid by Hospice of Michigan. Patients will incur no additional costs for participating in the study.

"We think the Telehospice technology will be a very efficient tool for supplementing traditional hospice home visits" said Jeanne Parzuchowski, Hospice of Michigan vice president of research.

"There are many instances, often in the middle of the night, when face-to-face reassurance and advice would be welcomed by our patients and families" she said.

Initially, participants in the study will be from Detroit and Alpena, allowing researchers to examine the application of the technology in traditionally underserved rural and urban areas.

Each team will have 20 Telehospice units, which combine monitor and camera, plus speakerphones, for installation in patients' homes at the time of admission. The team offices in Alpena, Detroit and in the after-hours office called Extended Coverage will have 13-inch television units with a mounted camera above the screen.

The teams will be able to control the image of the patient using the keypad of the touch-tone phone to enhance the visual interaction. For example, the team nurse will be able to zoom in and take an on-screen snapshot of a medicine bottle held up by a patient or family member.

The study is funded through Oct. 1, 2001.

Copyright 2000 Michigan State University Division of University Relations.