North Arkansas Regional Medical Center has partnered with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services, and the Arkansas Medical Society to provide a service to reduce the number of babies born with severe medical problems.

The Antenatal and Neonatal Guidelines, Education and Learning System (ANGELS) is an innovative consultative service for a wide range of physicians including family practitioners, obstetricians, neonatologists, and pediatricians in Arkansas.

ANGELS allows UAMS’ maternal-fetal specialists to provide long-distance consultation with primary care doctors and their high-risk pregnancy patients. Its 24-hour call center and the use of telemedicine technology have expanded access for women with high-risk pregnancies to maternal-fetal medicine specialists and improved regional transportation of patients to specialists for delivery.

Utilizing interactive compressed video, weekly telemedicine conferences enable physicians to confer with maternal-fetal medicine specialists in real-time about individual cases. In addition, ultrasounds can be read in real-time, and ANGELS offers assistance in training local technicians. Clinical telemedicine consultations are available that allow patients, local physicians, and UAMS physicians to talk together and see each other, bringing subspecialty support directly to hometowns. The ANGEL’s call center’s phone number is 1-866-273-3835.

With significant support from the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services, ANGELS provides evidence-based guidelines for maternal-fetal and neonatal care. The Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Neonatology Divisions develop these guidelines in collaboration with physicians across Arkansas.

ANGELS provides many services including:

• Weekly, real-time telemedicine conferences between physicians and Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialists
• Real-time ultrasound reading
• Training for local technicians
• 24-hour call center service for physicians to consult Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialists
• Call center available for women with questions about pregnancy, delivery and post-partum concerns

“We are so very fortunate to be partnering with UAMS in this innovative program to care for high risk and special circumstance pregnancies. This will allow our patients to stay close to home while still receiving the best care possible. It will also allow inpatient consultation with doctors specializing in high risk pregnancies and high risk newborns. If care can be provided at our hospital, this allows both mother and baby to stay together and close to family, but if transfer is needed, then the ANGEL’s program will help facilitate the process and get the patients where they need to be as fast as possible,” states Dr. Dawn Phelps, Chair of NARMC’s OB Committee.