The Maui News Sept. 7 editorial, "Hub system a matter of life or death," revealed a critical omission in Maui's health care controversy: What role should telehealth play in meeting the urgent unmet needs of our community?

Too much attention has been spent on how many hospitals do we need, who really represents our health care needs, why doesn't the state of Hawaii heed local health care initiatives, how can we attract specialists, ad infinitum.

Why not focus instead on what we can do right now to improve everyone's immediate access to health care regardless of where they live by creating a telehealth "Connecting Care" system on Maui in 2009?

The success of Michigan's Marquette General Hospital mentioned in The Maui News editorial can be attributed, in part, to the Upper Peninsula Telehealth Network which provides clinical telemedicine services across 42 sites.

The Upper Peninsula's geographic isolation, growing elderly population and transportation challenges coupled with the willingness of their local health care providers and payers to innovate with telemedicine, led to their creation of an innovative 21st century telecare system that we can learn from and replicate here on Maui.

Anyone, anywhere, anytime on Maui can be connected to a qualified local or Mainland physician by telephone. Two-way broadband Internet video connections can also "visually" connect people with their doctors and/or family caregivers locally and/or on the Mainland. Portable electronic personal health records controlled by patients and their family caregivers can be shared safely with anyone they choose wherever and whenever needed.

A basic health information exchange and electronic health records can be set up to improve the coordination and continuity of health care as patients transfer between different locations and health care providers.

In addition, in-home personal health monitoring devices can help people manage chronic diseases, continuously relaying timely health information to family caregivers and family physicians, thereby preventing diseases from getting out of control and saving costly trips to the emergency room or hospitalization. Local medical kiosks with medical-grade video capacity located in Hana, Lanai, Molokai and resort locations can be set up to enable virtual visits with physicians and specialists wherever they may be.

Imagine this: You and your elderly loved one in the living room, looking at a laptop computer monitor containing live video of your doctor on Maui, a specialist in Cleveland and your brother in Seattle - all communicating vocally as a care plan is discussed. After this session, just you and your family members remain in video contact and have similar "contact" on a regular basis.

These telehealth provisions aren't intended to replace a hands-on visit with a health care provider when this is readily available. Rather, it makes a virtual visit possible wherever and whenever one may be needed. It also saves telehealth consumers the time and costs of time traveling to and from the doctor's office, time in the waiting room and those difficulties faced by people with mobility issues.

Doesn't it make sense, therefore, to join together and do what we can do to begin building a "Connecting Care" system on Maui in 2009 while we're waiting for new hospitals, which may or may not be created in the future?

Perhaps this is a question we should also be asking of any candidates running for office on Maui.

Peter Durkson is chairman of the Maui County Council on Aging. He lives in Makawao.