Rural Telemedicine
TTUHSC has established several rural health care projects utilizing telemedicine. One such project is located in the Big Bend Region and connects to the remote community of Alpine. The Big Bend area of Texas is one of the most remote areas in the country and has less medical care per resident than any other location in Texas. With telemedicine, the hospital in Alpine is linked to the HSC Lubbock campus.
Another project currently underway at TTUHSC is with the school health clinic located in Hart, Texas. Through this project, the school nurse, who is the only health care provider in the town, can link with specialists in Lubbock. This project has saved patients and their families miles of driving and has contributed to improved school attendance. The telemedicine project at Hart ISD has been so successful that TTUHSC is considering developing additional school-based telemedicine clinics in West Texas.
Texas Tech also has telemedicine links to several rural clinics in the "colonias" the border region near El Paso. The remote clinics are connected to the TTUHSC El Paso campus which provides services ranging from specialty care to diabetes education.