The Case

When on-site teams at a rural hospital performed a routine ultrasound for a pregnant patient, the poor quality of the results prompted a consultation with Access TeleCare’s teleMaternal-fetal medicine specialists.

Following up-to-date best practices, the facility’s dedicated Access TeleCare telemedicine MFM specialist ordered a focused fetal echocardiogram. The test revealed a new diagnosis of pulmonic stenosis, a rare and potentially fatal heart valve disorder that went undetected during the initial ultrasound.

The Care Plan

Access TeleCare’s maternal-fetal medicine expert quickly consulted with the patient’s obstetrician and recommended a follow-up with a pediatric cardiologist who agreed with the Access TeleCare specialist’s assessment and timely care decisions.

The patient’s local hospital lacked the resources to care for what was now a high-risk pregnancy. Access TeleCare’s MFM specialist coordinated with the patient’s on-site care team to facilitate a medically necessary transfer to a higher-level hospital equipped to manage the complex care the patient and fetus required. The accepting hospital’s staff included a pediatric cardiologist as well as a pediatric cardiac surgeon.

“One of the main drivers of maternal morbidity and mortality is patients who don’t get the care they need because of a missed or incomplete diagnosis and a lack of access to an MFM specialist. This is a solvable problem that our comprehensive teleMFM programs are designed to address.”

– Amanda Horton, M.D.
Access TeleCare’s teleMFM specialist

The Result

With the rare condition diagnosed in utero and the patient transferred well before delivery, the care team avoided both delivery at the local hospital that likely would not have been prepared for the emergent condition and emergent transfer of a potentially unstable newborn.