Technology continues to drive innovations in telemedicine—and consequently lower costs—for oil companies and drilling contractors responsible for providing medical care to offshore crews.
InPlace Medical Solutions enables offshore workers experiencing illness or injury to visit directly with physicians through real-time, two-way videoconferencing services. InPlace Medical Solution is a subsidiary of NuPhysicia LLC of Houston.
The idea is to reduce the number of unnecessary helicopter evacuations, which can be expensive. Fewer medical evacuations also increase productivity.
Scorpion Offshore Ltd. uses NuPhysicia's services aboard the jack up Offshore Courageous, which started a 3-year contract in January for Sarawak Shell Bhd./Sabah Shell Petroleum Co. Ltd.
Offshore Courageous is working alongside the Saint Joseph 607-B platform on Block 302 off Sarawak (east Malaysia). NuPhysicia has a 3-year contract with Offshore Courageous and soon plans to be on three more Scorpion rigs.
Doctor on line
Typically, drilling rigs and platforms provide paramedics who consult with doctors via telephone. InPlace provides a video scope and a digital stethoscope for a medic to use on a patient while a doctor electronically monitors the examination.
The instruments use live video cameras that enable the doctor to see inside the patient's ear, nose, and throat, and listen to the patient's heart and lungs. The doctor also can view the skin via instruments providing lighting and magnification.
"Any rig with internet capability can have attention from board-certified physicians through telemedicine," said Shannon Caldwell, NuPhysicia's executive director of offshore and remote services. Patients are evacuated only if medically necessary.
Advanced equipment enables offshore patients and their medic to confer with an onshore doctor via medical-quality videoconference. Photo from telemedicine provider NuPhysicia LLC.
Formerly, Caldwell was with Noble Drilling where he served as the corporate HSE advisor for eastern hemisphere operations covering three continents.
During a pilot project with Offshore Courageous, InPlace Medical Solutions saw 27 cases where standard offshore protocols indicated evacuation events but only 4 evacuations resulted, marking an 85% reduction in evacuations and an estimated savings of $213,000, Caldwell said.
Evacuations were prevented because the doctor and patient agreed upon a method of care that could be provided onboard the Offshore Courageous.
Pilot results
NuPhysicia provided OGJ with the statistic results of its 6-month Offshore Courageous pilot during which 100 visits were made to the clinic. Patients' confidential information was protected.
The patients' average age was 37. Upper respiratory infections accounted for 37% of the cases seen and were by far the most common reason for a visit to the clinic onboard the Offshore Courageous, Caldwell said.
The most common drugs prescribed were benadryl or levaquin, each of them accounting for 12% of the total patient visits. Ibuprofen was prescribed for 9% of the patients.
During January through March, physician-led health risk assessments were offered to the Offshore Courageous crew at no charge. Interest was moderate with 27 individuals completing a health questionnaire, getting lab results, and talking with a physician.
Many of the patients were medically obese or overweight, Caldwell said. Blood pressure measurement showed about one third of the patients had hypertension. As the average age of the oil employee increases, more workers have long-term medical problems such as hypertension and diabetes.
Consequently, companies are more willing to invest in preventive care and health maintenance.
Results of a patient survey indicated 69% of the crew reported visiting the medic and 54% saw a doctor via video telemedicine services. All participants said they were satisfied with the care and believed the video services improved the visit.
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