Meet a Specialist - Professor Karen S. Rheuban MD

Professor of Pediatrics

Director, UVA Center for Telehealth

Senior Associate Dean for CME and External Affairs UVA Health

What attracted you to go into medicine?

My interest in medicine began when I was a teenager, when my father was ill.  I chose a career in medicine as it offered the opportunity to improve the lives of patients incorporating  the art of medicine and that of data driven scientific inquiry.

What branch of medicine are you in? I am a pediatric cardiologist.

Why did you get involved with the Trust? I joined the Swinfen Charitable Trust as a volunteer consultant, and later was privileged to have been invited to serve as a Trustee.

Why do you think the Trust is important? As the longest serving international telemedicine charity, Swinfen Telemedicine enables providers in low resource communities to access the specialty expertise of expert physicians and other providers who volunteer their services to the charity. Every consult offers an opportunity for a learning experience for the patient’s provider, and often, even for us as consultants. Care delivered in high resource settings often does not translate into what can be supported in low resource settings, and as such, we as consultants must be cognisant of the environment (and resources) from which our cases originate. Of note, no patient is charged for the services provided by Swinfen Telemedicine.

Any interesting cases you can share? I have seen many infants and children with complex congenital heart defects and acquired heart disease. Cases such as older children with complex heart disease, or infectious diseases impacting the heart, or heart failure secondary to severe haemolytic anaemia.

Your most rewarding case? I have been involved in the cases of several infants and children with very complex congenital heart disease for whom we were able to arrange transportation and high quality cardiac surgery. I also had the privilege of meeting one of those children long after surgery.

How would you like people to help the Trust? There are many ways to assist the Trust in fulfilling its mission; to include volunteering to serve as a consultant or a referrer, to fundraising, to raising awareness of the work of the Trust.