BY BRANDON STAHL
NEWS TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
When Scenic River Health Services in the small town of Cook needs a mental health consultation for one of its patients, it often looks about 90 miles away to Dr. Gary Davis, a psychologist at the University of Minnesota Medical School at Duluth.
But Davis, head of the medical school's department of behavioral sciences, never has to drive. Instead, he talks to patients through a television, a camera and an Internet connection.
Expanding telemedicine -- systems that allow doctors and patients to communicate with each other from hundreds of miles away -- as well as other medical technologies throughout the state will be the main issues during the 2006 Minnesota Health Care Conference, running Monday and Tuesday at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.
More than 180 registrants, along with 37 exhibitors coming from as far as southwestern Minnesota, are scheduled to attend the conference.
Telemedicine is more than just giving mental health care consultations, according to Sally Buck, assistant director of the Rural Health Resource Center in Duluth and co-coordinator of the conference.
Buck said technologies have expanded to other health professionals, including physicians, radiologists and even pharmacists.
Telepharmacy allows pharmacists to fill prescriptions for people in even the most remote areas, Buck said.
"The conference will show some of the innovative models and success stories that hospitals have had," Buck said.
Attendees will get tips on how to implement other technologies at their centers, which is a primary concern in rural areas, said Karen Welle, assistant director with the Minnesota Department of Health who is co-coordinating the conference.
Increased and improved technology, Welle said, is an answer to a shrinking work force, another issue facing rural health-care providers.
"The goal is to focus on successful community models," she said.
Welle said the conference is typically held either in St. Cloud or Duluth. She said it's not certain when it will be back again, but said the city is a popular choice because of its entertainment and restaurant options.
BRANDON STAHL covers health care. He can be reached weekdays at (218) 720-4154 or by e-mail at bstahl@duluthnews.com.
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