Kansas Access to Telemedicine Redefines Patient Care, Access.(Originated from The Wichita Eagle, Kan.)

May 19--Nine-year-old Lonnie Perez was walking like a tiny, arthritic woman ten times her age.

She had been sick a few days when her mother, Sally, drove her to Kearny County Hospital in small-town Lakin, Kan.

The child's fever had hit 105 degrees, her feet were swelling and sores covered the inside of her mouth. The hospital's one pediatrician concluded a partial diagnosis of scarlet fever.

But interactive video cameras, which are making Kansas a leader in redefining the way modern health care is delivered, helped doctors 450 miles from Lakin cure Lonnie without her ever leaving her hometown.

"Words can't express the feeling," Lonnie's mom, Sally, said.

Residents at more than 20 sites throughout rural Kansas have access to telemedicine through interactive …