Tribal members on three remote reservations in northern Nevada will soon be able to get their prescriptions filled via a tele-pharmacy dispensary system, the first of its kind in Nevada.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced over $23 million in grants for Distance Learning and Telemedicine projects on Nov. 19, in honor of National Rural Health Day. As part of that announcement, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe was approved for $377,772 to develop a tele-health system that will serve nine partner sites, including three tele-pharmacy dispensers at tribal health clinics on the Walker River Paiute, Duckwater Shoshone and Fort McDermitt tribal reservations.
In making the announcement, Vilsack noted that rural communities often lack access to specialized medical care or advanced educational opportunities. “These grants will help increase access to health care and many other essential services,” Vilsack said.
The Pyramid Lake project will use video-conferencing and special tele-pharmacy dispensers located at remote end user sites using the Pyramid Lake Tribal Health Clinic as the “centralized bridging location”. Local health providers will order prescriptions via the electronic health system, and oversight/approvals will be provided by pharmacists at the Pyramid Lake Health Clinic Pharmacy. Prepacked prescriptions will be securely dispensed via a secure robotic dispensing machine. The pharmacists will communicate directly with patients at remote sites via video conferencing to discuss prescription safety and use.
The tele-health video system will also be used for behavioral health, tele-dermatology and distance education. The nine sites for the system are: Pyramid Lake Data Center, Sutcliffe Community Center, Pyramid Lake Jr./Sr. High School, Wadsworth Victim's Advocate Office, Wadsworth Community Center, along with the tribal clinics named above.
USDA Rural Development Nevada State Director Sarah Adler applauded the vision and collaborative efforts that brought the distance learning telemedicine (DLT) project together.
"The purpose of the DLT is to enable rural communities to use technology to solve problems of distance and lack of scale. This project is an innovative example, connecting one pharmacist to multiple tribal communities, creating immediate access to medicines that otherwise would be hours away. I am proud our agency plays a role in improving health for these tribal communities," said Adler.