In a timely follow-up to my post about the potential benefits of Twitter as a communication tool, ABC News ran a story about Henry Ford Hospital using Twitter and video as an opportunity to teach medical students remotely about a particular brain surgery procedure.

There is no substitute for in-person training. However, where budget cuts and tight schedules are ruling the day, there is a potential for using Twitter and remote video as a teaching tool for physicians and other medical professionals in medically underserved communities. 

According to the Department of Health, there are over 13,000 Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) in the U.S. as of September 30, 2008. HPSA are designated based on shortages in primary medical care, dental or mental health providers. They may be urban or rural areas, population groups or medical or other public facilities. The areas are broken down in the following categories:

• 6,033 Primary Care HPSAs with 64 million people living in them. It would take 16,336 practitioners to meet their need for primary care providers (a population to practitioner ratio of 2,000:1).
• 4,048 Dental HPSAs with 48 million people living in them. It would take 9,432 practitioners to meet their need for dental providers (a population to practitioner ratio of 3,000:1).
• 3,059 Mental Health HPSAs with 77 million people living in them. It would take 5,145 practitioners to meet their need for mental health providers (a population to practitioner ratio of 10,000:1).

Physicians, residents and other medical professionals in these areas still require training. YouTube and Twitter may not be the best answer but they should be considered a viable option, thanks to pioneers like Henry Ford Hospital.