Space telecommuters

[image source: CNN – http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/TECH/space/10/24/depressed.in.space.ap/art.virtual.space.station.ap.jpg]

Pop quiz: Who telecommutes to work in space?

Hint: It’s not the astraunaut

The answer, available at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/10/24/depressed.in.space.ap/index.html, is the astraunaut’s psychologist!

We talked about how telecommuting can reduce fossil fuel dependency. Here’s another way that telecommuting can make the world a better place to live – telecommuting psychologists can keep our astraunauts happy 🙂

When you were little, did you want to become an astraunaut? It is an extreme honor to be an astraunaut but the job is also extremely demanding. Being locked up in small spaces for days and away from family and the comfort of home is not easy. The job is also terribly stressful. When an astraunaut is tired and frustrated, s/he can’t just sit down & kick back. S/he can’t just go out and get some fresh air. And there’s certainly no walk in the park!

So what do they do when they feel down and depressed? They can talk to a therapist, on computer! For those of you who are psychology majors, the sky is no longer the limit! Technology enables you to telecommute to the space and help your astraunaut patients. Isn’t that something?

OK so there’s not exactly a huge population of potential clients in the space, at least not yet. But there are a lot of patients that you can reach more easily through technology. What are the innovative ways in which information technology can be used by  healthcare managers to provide better care to more people?