OSU Telemedicine is the recipient of the Champion of
Health Care in Rural Oklahoma award for its commitment
to rural health care.

OSU Telemedicine is the 2004 recipient of the Champion of Health Care in Rural Oklahoma award from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma. Attending the award dinner are Jon Barnaby, Ray Stowers, D.O., Michael Young, Debbie Martin, John Fernandes, D.O., emcees Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner, KarenWicker, Richard Wansley, Ph.D., Emily Lim, Eric Scholl, and Ron King, from Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Champion of Health Care in Rural Oklahoma – Oklahoma State University Telemedicine
Dr. John Fernandes, president of the OSU Center for Health Sciences, recently wrote, “Those who choose to live outside the metropolitan area should not be penalized by being denied access to effective, convenient health care ….” The OSU Telemedicine network, established in 1994, allows physicians to consult or examine patients from a remote location. Today OSU manages and operates 24 telemedicine sites in Oklahoma, along with 20 distance-learning locations that help doctors stay up-to-date when they choose a rural practice.  See complete BlueCross BlueSheild News Release Oct. 6, 2004

OSU is a leader in telemedicine technology, with the state's largest telemedicine network connecting physicians to patients via the Internet. This medical lifeline allows patients in non-metropolitan areas the same accessibility to specialized health care as those living in large cities.

OSU medical students receive hands-on training in telemedicine, and the College was the first medical school in the nation to require telemedicine application of all its graduates. The OSU Telemedicine Network is currently linked to more than half a dozen locations throughout Oklahoma, with a goal of being connected to 55 communities in the next five years.