The Great Plains Telehealth Resource & Assistance Center provided telemedicine screenings at the Minnesota State Fair, where over 1.5 million people attend annually. Over 500 fairgoers were screened using teledermatology and pulmonary function testing, with over 30% referred for further evaluation. Physicians conducted nearly 600 screenings over 18 telemedicine sessions, averaging 27 screenings per hour. The telehealth demonstrations provided an important public service by screening for diseases and encouraging medical follow-up, while also educating about telehealth benefits. A patient later thanked the program for detecting and removing a cancerous mole that saved their life.

1. Telemedicine
at the Minnesota
State Fair
Zoi Hills, Project Manager,
Great Plains Telehealth Resource &
Assistance Center

2. Background
 Minnesota State Fair: >1.5 million attend
 Great Plains Telehealth Resource & Assistance
Center booth in U of M building
 500+ experience telemedicine
 5000+ observe telehealth in action
 Telehealth fair booth activities:
Teledermatology
Pulmonary function testing
Stroke screening
 Future Telehealth fair booth activity:
Cardiology

3. Preparations & Methods
Coordinate U of M and other partners
Recruitment & Scheduling
 Telemedicine physicians
 Staff volunteers
Gather supplies
Set ethernet connection through U of M gigabit network
 Process…
 Staff volunteer: explain telehealth to crowd, track
number of observers, hands out materials, answer
questions, crowd control
 Recruit “patients”
 2-4 minutes per patient consult:

5. Results
 576 fair goers screened
87% (n=503) by dermatologists
13% (n=73) by pulmonologists
 18, two-hour telemedicine sessions
27 screenings per hour, on average
 200 people referred for further evaluation –
>33% of screened
skin cancer lesions (n=34)
pre-malignant lesions (n=70)
abnormal spirometry readings (n=17)
significant airflow obstruction (n=11)
PFT results suggestive of restrictive process (n=6)
benign lesions / conditions warranting further evaluation (n=62)

6. CONCLUSION
Great Plains Telehealth Resource & Assistance
Center demonstration…
…provides valuable public service
…offers effective means of screening for disease
…encourages essential medical follow-up
…educates about the merits of telehealth
…saves lives…
Patient testimonial:
“Your doctor saw me last week and found a suspicious
mole on my chest. I followed up with my doctor who
removed it because it was cancer.
Thank you for saving my life!”

7. QUESTIONS?
Contact us at 888-239-7092
Visit us at www.gptrac.org