Helping catastrophically ill children is the main objective of MMC and the TOP. To help
these children, you first need to figure
out what is wrong with them. Often, local doctors need help from medical specialists to arrive at an accurate diagnosis. Statistics show that in the developing world, the initial diagnosis is incorrect more than one third of the time. This misdiagnosis leads to an improper plan of care. The question becomes — how do we provide the expertise of medical specialists to these underserved communities at a time when there is a global shortage of qualified healthcare professionals?
The answer to this dilemma lies in the field of telemedicine. In simple terms, telemedicine electronically links a physician with a patient in a remote location. For example, a physician in New Jersey could be examining a patient and consulting with the patient’s physician in Armenia without ever leaving their local hospital. The net result is a diagnostic consultation that directly benefits the patient and provides a valuable learning experience for the medical professionals on both ends of the session.
MMC maintains a network of 27 tier-one mentoring hospitals in the United States and Europe that participate in the Telemedicine Outreach Program (TOP). With our recent partnership with the World Bank, we now have a direct presence in more than 100 countries.
