Telemedicine-英语听力

[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.77]this is the Health Report. [00:04.82]Telemedicine is the name for [00:07.17]when doctors give advice to patients [00:09.97]by telephone or the Internet, [00:12.93]or when health care providers in rural areas [00:16.73]connect with specialists in big cities. [00:20.68]Telemedicine has existed for a long time, [00:23.99]but the rise of smartphone, tablets [00:27.75]and webcam-equiped computers [00:30.89]is raising telemedicine to new levels. [00:34.55]Some health care systems in the United States [00:37.90]now offer Virtual Urgent Care, [00:41.00]patients see a doctor by video chat [00:44.46]without having to leave home. [00:46.67]Diana Rae is a nurse educator [00:50.28]in the western state of Washington. [00:52.83]She recently demonstrated how Virtual Urgent Care works. [00:57.63]She used a iPad tablet and skype - the video chat service. [01:03.03]"Hi, yes, my name is doctor Ben Green, [01:05.67]among the doctors with Franciscan Virtual Urgent Care." [01:09.26]Doctor Green has the patient describe her symptoms, [01:13.77]then the doctor performs a physical exam [01:17.82]by demonstrating what he wants her to do. [01:21.36]Doctor Green decides that the problem is a silence infection. [01:26.22]For medicine, he prescribes an antibiotic. [01:29.80]He says about 3 out 4 patients have health problems [01:34.35]that can be treated like this [01:37.96]- through Virtual Urgent Care, [01:40.67]that means a video chat could replace a visit to the doctor's office. [01:46.47]Patient safety is really important to us. [01:48.97]So if we feel like the patient is not safe [01:51.28]to be treated in this manner, [01:52.90]we're going to suggest other alternatives for them," said Green. [01:56.41]The Franciscan Health System is based in Tacoma, Washington. [02:00.60]Franciscan charges $35 for this kind of virtual house call, [02:06.34]that is much less than the cost of going to an emergency room, [02:11.14]a doctor's office or an urgent care clinic. [02:16.00]After trying the video conference, [02:18.93]Diana Rae says she would been happy to pay the 35$, [02:23.36]when she was recently home with a bad cold. [02:27.06]"I would've paid twice that for the convenience of [02:31.01]getting taken care of without having to sit in a waiting room, [02:35.71]wait, and get exposed to everyone else's germs," Rae said. [02:40.10]Franciscan operates hospitals, clinics [02:43.86]and a hospice for end-of-life care. [02:47.55]Franciscan has a deal with a company called Carena [02:51.82]to add virtual urgent care by Skype or phone. [02:56.15]Carena is one of several companies [02:59.10]doing this kind of work around the country. [03:02.41]But a company official says state rules have not kept progress [03:06.86]with developments in telemedicine. [03:09.76]The workers who provide virtual urgent care [03:13.23]must be separately licensed in each state [03:16.68]where the company does business. [03:18.73]For now, that means Carena doctors can treat patients [03:23.22]in Washington state and California for example, [03:26.56]but not in neighboring Oregon or Idaho. [03:30.50]And that's the Health Report from VOA Learning English. [03:34.80]I'm Christopher Cruise.