Technology enables an historically Black medical college to serve poor Los Angelenos at greatly reduced costs

Sean Morris's eyes worry him; they hurt sometimes and he wonders what to do about it. A friend's report of a six-month wait for exams at the county hospital had discouraged him from seeking help. But recently, the twenty-four-year-old discovered the Carmelitos Teleopthalmology Center only a short walk from his home.

Morris calls to make an appointment and, to his surprise, is scheduled for the next day. After filling out the necessary paperwork on the day of his visit, medical assistant Denise Kelly, leads him into the examination room and introduces him to a young ophthalmology resident from Drew University, Dr. Michelle Banks. Banks first takes several pictures of Morris's eyes from varying angles using a computerized retinal camera. This digital camera is connected by a cable to a computer, and Morris is amazed to see his eyeballs floating instantaneously onto the computer screen. Thanks to this innovation, testing him for glaucoma won't require the traditional dilation with numbing eye drops.

Also viewing the digitized images of Morris's eyes is Dr. Yadavinder Dang -- an ophthalmologist sitting at his computer five miles away at the King-Drew Medical Center. Banks and Dang discuss Morris's eyes; Morris can see and hear Dr. Dang on the screen, and the doctor is able to study this patient thoroughly without even being in the room.

While a high percentage of new patients arrive at Carmelitos with serious eye problems, Morris gets a clean bill of health. His condition is diagnosed as "dry eye" -- nothing a little vial of artificial tears can't remedy.

Big-city public hospitals can be antiseptic, anonymous, and anything but userfriendly -- particularly if you are an uninsured patient without easy access to preventive treatment. Recognizing that the Black and Latino population in their county service area of 1.4 million Angelenos is already woefully underserved by existing facilities, two African American ophthalmologists have almost single-handedly launched the nation's first urban telemedicine program.