SAFE-T Center Control Site Overview

What is the overall goal of the project?

• The Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth (“SAFE-T”) Center aims to develop a statewide network of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (“SANEs”) so that no matter where victims seek medical treatment, they have access to compassionate, high-quality, forensically defensible, and patient-centered care.
• By establishing the SAFE-T Center, medical professionals conducting sexual assault forensic exams at participating partner hospitals will have “24/7” live access support services to expert TeleSANEs through our specialized, secure, encrypted telehealth technology.
• As a control site, your hospital provides a benchmark for evaluating the impact of the SAFE-T Center proposed telehealth model. The SAFE-T Center will use the information to understand whether live telehealth support significantly improves quality of exam photos, written documentation, and patient satisfaction.
• The SAFE-T Center will provide control sites with new, state of the art equipment for the digital capture and storage of forensic exam photos and documentation. Control sites will also be asked to offer patients an opportunity to participate in SAFE-T Center research, including a short patient satisfaction survey at the end of the examination that is completed on an iPad.
• We are interested in well established programs that have SANEs who routinely providing forensic care to victims and treat a significant number of patients.
• We anticipate that the results of this study can help create sustained funding to promote and retain SANEs, who provide excellent sexual assault care with high quality equipment throughout Pennsylvania.

What does the SAFE-T Center provide to the control site?

• Provide forensic photo equipment: Eva System® by MobileODT and Apple iPad
• Training for providers in using the Eva System® for capturing high-quality colposcope photos
• 24/7 on-call support for technology and equipment maintenance concerns
• 24/7 on-call support for questions regarding SAFE-T Center research and consent for research
• Secure cloud-based storage for all digital forensic images
• Assistance with secure download and storage of images as determined by hospital preference
• Stipend for your program for time and effort

What does the control site provide to the SAFE-T Center?

• Wi-Fi network access for the MobileODT EVA System® and the Apple iPad
• Dedicated staff time for training with new equipment and SAFE-T Center procedures
• Commit to utilizing the SAFE-T Center provided equipment for all sexual assault examinations during the partnership period. Equipment can be used for all patients, regardless of whether they are eligible for or desire to participate in research.
• Offer all eligible patients an opportunity to participate in research at the start of the exam
  • Participating patients will be asked to complete a patient satisfaction survey on the iPad
  • SAFE-T Center is responsible for consenting patients to research, not hospital staff
• For all patients who consent to SAFE-T Center research
  • Provide access to case documentation as well as patient demographic or registration information
  • Provide access to patient billing data (i.e., dates of service, diagnosis codes) within the hospital system for the year prior to the sexual assault exam and for the three years following the sexual assault exam

Would you like to learn more about becoming a Control Site? Contact the SAFE-T Center at safet@psu.edu.