11/26/2009
Healthcare services that offer online doctor visits are increasing. Earlier this year, the Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA) launched their online care program. The program offers patients online doctor visits which cost $10 for members and $45 for nonmembers The technology behind the HMSA program, created by American Well, a Boston company, is being picked up by other health insurance plans. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Minnesota launched a pilot version this fall and plans to offer it to all members by mid-2010. A recent partnership between American Well and OptumHealth, a division of UnitedHealth Group, will take Online Care nationwide to all consumers, regardless of insurance provider. Then there is MDLiveCare, a national service with more than 100,000 members who may or may not be covered by a healthcare plan and who pay a flat $35 per online visit to consult with primary-care providers, specialists, and therapists in the network.
Some healthcare plans, such as Kaiser Permanente, already let members E-mail doctors, review lab tests, make appointments, and refill prescriptions online. But virtual doctor visits are in real time and don't have to adhere to office hours. In Hawaii, some of the most remote patients now have 24-7 access to basic healthcare.
About 10,000 individuals, most of them residents of the New York metropolitan area, can already get an online (or phone) emergency consultation with one of 34 ER physicians who have signed on with a company called SwiftMD.
Patients in Brooklyn, N.Y., who don't have health insurance (and physicians who don't want to deal with insurance claims) have the option of joining Hello Health. After an initial face-to-face visit, patients pay $100 to $200 an hour for each encounter, whether it's in person or online. In addition, the $35 monthly membership fee covers unlimited E-mail exchanges with Hello Health doctors. Online, patients can see their doctor's schedule and make their own appointments. If they run late, they can whip out a BlackBerry or iPhone and post a message on a Facebook-like "wall" on the physician's Web page. Hello Health internist Sean Khozin figures he spends as much as 40 percent of his time online - following up with chronic disease cases, for example, to coordinate care. Hello Health is in the process of rolling out nationally.
Such services offer more than convenience, however. An online encounter often is a substitute for an expensive trip to the ER. It's also likely to be cheaper than an office visit, plus it confers nearly instant access to a patient's choice of available doctors and - a boon for employers - may trim the number of workdays missed for minor maladies. Ninety-five percent of Harper's patients using the Hawaii service can be managed without a face-to-face visit, says the physician.
Many Americans are would-be prospects for online care. Half say they would be interested in using the Internet not only as an information source but to receive healthcare directly, according to a recent survey by an arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Consumers soon may be able to choose from a range of services.
(Source: US News and World Report, October 27, 2009)8/28/2009
People suffering from depression should get counseling online to avoid long waiting times to see a doctor, according to new research. A UK study of almost 300 patients found that those given online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) were two-and-a-half times more likely to recover from their mental health problems that those who received standard care from a GP. One in six adults suffer from depression or chronic anxiety, and online CBT may offer an alternative to the growing problem.
Dr David Kessler, a senior primary care researcher at the University of Bristol and a part time GP, said: "The patients get up to ten one hour appointments which are carried out online by instant messenger.
"Maybe it is the writing things down that helps so much because you have to think more when you do this. It is like being in a chat room with your therapist.
"It would greatly improve access to therapists for people who are disabled, housebound or living in remote locations.
"And you don't have to be some whizzy computer geek to use it. Some of our patients were in their seventies although the average age of people with depression is surprisingly young � around the 30s and 40s mark."
In the study, patients aged from eighteen into their 70s were recruited from Bristol, London and Warwickshire and 149 were given online CBT along with the usual care while 148 got the customary GP sessions.
After a four month follow up completed by 113 patients in the intervention group and 97 in the control group, almost two fifths of those who got the online CBT recovered from depression compared with one in four of those who did not. After eight months the proportion grew further, according to the findings published in The Lancet.
"Cognitive behavioral therapy seems to be effective when delivered online in real time by a therapist, with benefits maintained over eight months. This method of delivery could broaden access to CBT in primary care," Dr Kessler said.
"The number of patients for whom online CBT is feasible and attractive will grow. It could be useful in areas where access to psychological treatment is scarce, and for patients whose first language is not English.
"It could make access to psychotherapies more equitable by providing a service to patients in areas or even countries where psychological treatment is not readily available."
(Source: The Telegraph, August 21, 2009)
4/30/2009
In a new study funded by NIH, educators overwhelmingly embrace
Behavior Imaging technology as a telemedicine tool for more effectively treating children with autism. Dr. Uwe Reischel, M.D., Ph.D, of Boise State University coordinated a study that examined not only the efficacy of "B.I. Capture" (a behavior imaging tool that captures and stores behavioral events via remote control video) in treating students with autism, but also looked at how easy it is for teachers and behavior specialists to use the technology.
"We are finding that autism educators are receptive to using telemedicine and specifically B.I. than we had originally expected," noted Reischl. "This is especially so for participants who not only want to use it for behavior analysis, but who also see it as a useful tool for assessing student skills, giving or receiving consultation, and for training students and staff."
Behavior Imaging was initially developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology and is now marketed by Caring Technologies/TalkAutism in Boise, ID. The system is able to capture on video, a child's behavioral episodes in educational, clinical, and home environments. Behavioral data is captured on video and then the video is used to characterize recognized aspects of behavior to assist in the diagnosis, treatment, and research of autism. The video can be viewed, annotated, and stored online, so that behavioral experts can guide students progress from anywhere in the world.
An earlier phase of the study demonstrated that the technology enabled a 43% reduction in errors when collecting data for the Functional Behavior Assessment program. Now in addition to more effective clinical diagnoses and treatment, behavior imaging can help qualified practitioners save time and money by not always observing autistic behavior in people in person.
"B.I Care" is another platform now used by professionals to diagnose, evaluate, treat, train, and provide remote consultation for autism, TBI, PTSD, and other conditions. The new system B.I. Care will be unveiled and exhibited at the ATA Annual Meeting in Las Vegas and complements B.I Capture.
For more information go to www.bicapture.
(Source: Federal Telemedicine News, April 22, 2009)
Wireless Cardiac telehealth systems are not only advancing care, they're turning into marketing tools that companies can use to sell surgeons on their pacemakers and other implanted cardiac devices (ICDs). The pitch? Home-monitored patients should have fewer health problems, but only those with compatible implants can sign up for each provider's service.
Medtronic dominates the cardiac telehealth market with its CareLink patient network. Launched in 2002, it boasts 350,000 patients in 20 countries, with 12,000 more enrolling each month. But the company's lead may narrow.
St. Jude Medical is now rolling out the latest update of its competing Merlin.net network. The new product should help St. Jude grab 5 to 7.5 percentage points of the global $6.5 billion ICD market over the next five years, projects UBS Securities (UBS) analyst Bruce Nudell.
Marketed as an all-in-one package, St. Jude's Merlin line includes several implanted devices that connect to Merlin.net, an Internet-based repository from which authorized doctors have access to patient information. The third version was approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration on Mar. 22.
The new software can combine hundreds of measurements taken from medical devices with other information stored in electronic health record databases such as Microsoft's Health Vault and Google Health to predict changes in a patient's health. St. Jude, based in St. Paul, Minn., says the system also has better doctor alerts and comes in more languages. The network is a free service to those with enabled devices.
St. Jude began selling the network across Western Europe in late April. Though Medtronic's CareLink is already on the market in Europe, St. Jude beat Boston Scientific (BSX). So far, the $4.36 billion company has signed on more than 40,000 patients and 1,200 clinics, with patient enrollment growing 17% month over month and clinic enrollment growing 19%. "St. Jude is continuing to advance toward the cutting edge of technology and should gain the most share in 2009," says Christopher Warren, an analyst at Caris & Co. in New York.
Medtronic, though, doesn't seem too worried about St. Jude's advance. The Minneapolis company had $13.52 billion in 2008 revenue and commands about 45% of the global ICD market, with the other 55% split almost evenly between St. Jude and Boston Scientific. Having Europe well covered, Medtronic plans to introduce CareLink to another 10 countries this year. (It's also free for patients with a Medtronic device.)
Medtronic says its head start and scale give CareLink an edge. Users have provided 4 trillion pieces of health data, enabling Medtronic to write better algorithms to keep watch on patient care. "There's always been someone coming after us, but we have been the leader and will continue to be," says Pat Mackin, Medtronic's senior vice-president of cardiac rhythm disease management.
(Source: Business Week, April 27, 2009
Tunstall Healthcare recently announced the launch of its RTX3371 telehealth monitor - an interactive telehealth device with in-built GSM/GPRS mobile phone technology that collects vital signs wirelessly from a range of external devices such as weight scales and blood pressure cuffs.
In addition, the RTX3371 telehealth monitor's spoken voice functionality allows it to collect subjective patient information from patient questionnaires, and to automatically transmit the data to a clinical backend software application based on an open architecture interface.
According to Anthony Taroni, Director of Sales at Tunstall: "The availability of GSM/GPRS cellular coverage in the USA and the rapid increase in the number of people replacing regular phone lines with wireless and mobile phones has set new standards for home hubs and the way they provide connectivity in order to ensure effective telehealth delivery. This wireless device offers service users the freedom to place the device anywhere in the home independent of phone plugs, increasing user satisfaction and acceptance."
SourceL Tunstall Press Release April 30, 2009
NuPhysicia recently launched their Medicine At Work service, which brings retained physician services to the workplace, using video telemedicine to connect board certified doctors and patients.
Medicine At Work delivers innovative medical instruments, telecommunications equipment, and, through its retained physicians, professional healthcare services directly to employees at their place of work. Using two-way video, the doctor providing services to Medicine At Work conducts examinations in real-time with the assistance of a specially trained on-site paramedic.
Melody Reid, NuPhysicia's Executive Director for Employee Health Services, said, " Industry research shows that on-site care enables employers to control healthcare costs, while giving employees convenient access to medical attention from physicians at work during business hours. Employees visit Medicine At Work clinics at the worksite for doctor visits, prescriptions when needed, one-on-one wellness coaching, and other healthcare needs, without the time away from work and expense normally associated with seeing a doctor."
Dr. Michael Davis, Senior Vice President of NuPhysicia, stated, "Through the physicians associated with this program, Medicine At Work(TM) offers a full-time medical presence in the workplace, blending high technology telemedicine and high touch. The doctors use innovative tools and equipment and secure electronic medical records (EMRs), and develop an old-fashioned doctor-patient relationship with the focus on improving employee health."
A Medicine At Work clinic is cost-effective and space-efficient to outfit, needing only a minimum of 12 X 12 feet of space, an electrical outlet, Internet connection and a door for privacy at the employer site. Medicine At Work provides all furnishings, equipment, clinic staff and medical care services for a fixed monthly cost per employee.
(Source: NuPhysicia Press Release, April 16, 2009)
3/26/2009
Baton Rouge,
Lousiana, recently became the second US City to implement a telemedicine program that allows doctors to treat patients en route to the emergency room, city-parish officials said. Initially, the specially equipped ambulance will communicate only with Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, but plans call for the program to be expanded to all seven major area hospitals with federal Homeland Security funds, said Chad Guillot, assistant director of Emergency Medical Services.
Our Lady of the Lake was selected for the pilot program because it already uses a hard-wired telemedicine system to monitor intensive-care patients from a central location, he said.
The ambulance in the "BR Med-Connect" program will use the same wireless mesh network that police are using for their new high-tech surveillance system, which includes not only video cameras but shot-spotters that detect the origin of gunshots.
The city-parish program consists of one ambulance equipped with $25,000 worth of equipment.
When linked to another $30,000 in equipment at a hospital, the system will allow doctors not only to see and communicate with EMS patients, and also to monitor data from diagnostic machines.
Guillot said equipment for the ambulance was funded by self-generated funds from the EMS budget. Future plans call for the program to be expanded to include other ambulances, he said.
The only other American city with a similar ambulance program is Tucson, Ariz., Guillot said. But he noted that the technology is widely used overseas in countries with a shortage of physicians and hospitals.
Mayor-President Kip Holden said he first saw a telemedicine ambulance during a 2007 conference in Jerusalem. He was so impressed with the system in Jerusalem that he started work on a Baton Rouge version as soon as he returned home.
Holden noted that the first hour after a heart attack or stroke is critical.
The new telemedicine program will allow physicians to begin treatment as soon as a patient is loaded into an ambulance.
The mayor also noted the new system can help to save accident victims and other trauma cases, especially in cases involving long transports.
Don Evans, city-parish director of Information Services, said the same wireless mesh network that powers the telemedicine program and the law-enforcement surveillance canopy is being expanded to included other city-parish functions that involve data transfers. For instance, it may soon be used by building inspectors and even Animal Control, he said.
(Source: 2TheAdvocate, March 12, 2009)
Stroke patients in
Alaska could soon be treated by doctors thousands of miles away using an Augusta, Georgia based telemedicine system. The REACH Call interactive Web-based system will be installed in five facilities in the Providence Health & Services Alaska system, said REACH Call CEO Sandeep Agate.
The system will be based at the "hub" hospital at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, and by mid-April it will fan out to three "spoke" hospitals, which will likely include Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau, Mr. Agate said. Eventually there will be seven spoke hospitals across the state, he said.
The interactive system, developed at Medical College of Georgia, includes video and the ability to see crucial test results such as CT scans and allows a neurologist to evaluate a potential stroke patient at a remote hospital where there might be no neurologist on call or no neurologist at all.
The consultation is critical for giving the clot-busting drug tPA in particular to rule out bleeding in the brain.
"A neurologist sitting at home in Anchorage, affiliated with the Providence Alaska Medical Center, which is the hub hospital, could be treating a stroke patient almost 2,000 miles away in Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau," Mr. Agate said. "They could see whether transfer is actually needed, or whether tPA has to be given, and possibly save the life of that person."
Without it, the only option in Alaska could be putting that patient on a plane, he said.
"It costs a tremendous amount of money to fly somebody on a fixed-wing aircraft from Alaska to Seattle," Mr. Agate said. "And you could potentially be wasting that money. It could be a mini-stroke or a false positive; it could not be a stroke at all."
With the Alaska addition, REACH Call is now used at 74 facilities in seven states, and the company is in serious talks to add health systems in Texas, Louisiana, Illinois and Ohio, Mr. Agate said.
In Georgia, Medical College of Georgia Hospital serves as a hub for 10 rural spoke hospitals. The system is used at Doctors Hospital and is being implemented in Savannah at St. Joseph's/Candler, with plans for five spoke facilities there. The company is also hoping to persuade the state to back a program that would spread it to hospitals statewide, opening up vast areas where there might be no service for stroke patients.
"So hopefully put every Georgian within 30 miles of a stroke care network," Mr. Agate said.
It is also aiding stroke research at MCG by bringing in rural patients who ordinarily would not be able to access clinical trials. said David Hess, the chairman of the Department of Neurology at MCG and a co-founder of the REACH Call company. It is allowing MCG to rapidly find patients to test the drug minocycline to see if it helps limit damage from strokes.
Future clinical studies could include distant medical centers also, he said. It is a big emphasis by the National Institutes of Health to get clinical studies out into the community, "to try to get out there and get community hospitals and rural patients involved," Dr. Hess said. "We've fortunately been able to do that with the REACH system."
(Source: Augusta Chronicle, March 10, 2009)
St. Luke's-Miners Memorial Hospital in Schuylkill County,
Pennsylvania, now has a telemedicine connection with St. Luke's Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology in Center Valley. The technology allows doctors to examine patients remotely through a desktop videoconferencing system. With 23.6 million people, or 8 percent of the population nationwide diagnosed with diabetes, there is a growing need for endocrinologists, according to The Endocrine Society.
In Pennsylvania a slightly greater proportion, 9 percent of adults, said they have diabetes, according to a survey in 2007 by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. At St. Luke's-Miners Memorial, which has no practicing endocrinologists, telemedicine is now being used to fill the void.
''Many of these patients are elderly or perhaps too ill to drive an hour or more to see an endocrinologist,'' Dr. Bankim Bhatt, an endocrinologist at St. Luke's, said.
Endocrinology, a specialty that also treats patients diagnosed with thyroid conditions and pituitary dysfunction, lends itself well to telemedicine because much of the examination is done by talking to patients and looking at lab reports, Bhatt said.
At his fingertips, Bhatt has access to recent patient lab reports and other medical records, which he can reference during the office visit. He can see his patient on a separate computer screen and ask questions about family history and any new symptoms.
On the other end, in Schuylkill County, nurse practitioner Gretchen Heery serves as Bhatt's eyes and ears, checking vital signs, and examining fingers and toes for signs of poor circulation and eyes for signs of diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes, which can cause blindness.
(Source: Allantown Morning Call, March 25, 2009)
Floyd Memorial Hospital in New Albany,
Indiana is supplying Health Buddy devices to some patients. The push-button telemedicine device plugs into a telephone jack in a patients home and sends their information back to Floyd Memorial Hospital (FMH).
Floyd Perdue, a patient who suffers from a chronic lung disease and congestive heart failure, used to make numerous trips to the hospital or doctor's office for a checkup or to have his vital signs monitored. But ever since installed the Health Buddy device, those trips are no longer necessary.
"If his blood pressure is too high, or too low, it sends an alert to our system," said Michelle Wyatt, a registered nurse who works with FMH Home Health Services. "A nurse will call him right back."
"I know if it's too high or low, the phone is going to ring," Perdue said. "They might tell me to slack off on water or salt. It helps me keep better control of myself."
Wyatt said before, if a patient was tired or out of breath, they may have blamed it on doing too much on that particular day. Now, they will be able to have the Health Buddy check them out immediately and send the information to the hospital.
Perdue is still checked twice a month by his home health nurse, Angela Jones.
Wyatt said the Health Buddy also helps cut down on costs.
"We utilize telemedicine to educate patients, but if insurance only pays for X amount of visits, we use it to minimize visits," she said.
The Health Buddy is part of Home Health Care and Medicare and Medicaid pay 100 percent of the costs. The only stipulations are that the patient is homebound and can only go out if someone else drives, goes to church, doctor's visits or family functions.
(Source: New Albany Tribune, March 23, 2009)
A
Nebraska network aimed at extending health care resources to those in need is getting a federal boost. A $95,000 cut of a $410 billion spending package approved by President Obama earlier this month will benefit the Nebraska Statewide Telehealth Network. It receives the support through the Nebraska Hospital Association Research and Educational Foundation.
The network uses communication technologies to improve patient access to care and to provide patient, professional and community education. The network can connect rural patients to clinicians through videoconferencing, for example, or allow professionals across the state to collaborate.
It also serves as an additional communication source in the event of a public health emergency or disaster.
(Source: Associate Press, March 21, 2009)
3/26/2009
Remote patient monitoring technology enables healthcare providers to treat patients before their conditions becomes more acute, according to a new study from the Spyglass Consulting Group. According to the study, remote monitoring not only saves unnecessary trips to the emergency department but prevents re-admissions to the hospital. An estimated 97 percent of healthcare organizations rely on remote patient monitoring to improve clinical outcomes for critically ill patients, the study says.
Trends in Remote Patient Monitoring 2009 is a follow-up to the Spyglass Consulting Group's 2006 report on the same topic. Spyglass is based in Menlo Park, Calif.
"Early adopters of remote patient monitoring solutions are capitated managed care organizations having fiscal responsibility for their patients across the continuum of care," said Gregg Malkary, managing director of Spyglass. "These organizations include health maintenance organizations, integrated delivery systems, home health agencies, hospices, disease management companies and government agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs."
Among the key findings are:
Forty-eight percent of healthcare organizations interviewed have funded home telehealth initiatives themselves. A strong return on investment exists for healthcare delivery networks serving as provider and payer, including such organizations as Kaiser Permanente and the Veterans Administration.
Convergence with consumer electronics products enables patients to use devices with which they are already comfortable, including smart phones, personal computers and cable boxes. Prices for remote patient monitoring devices and associated peripherals need to drop from several thousand dollars to less than $500 per unit before healthcare organizations will make further investments to support their patients with other chronic diseases.
Healthcare payers are resistant to providing reimbursement for remote patient monitoring despite evidence of their efficacy by the Veterans Administration, which has deployed more than 35,000 units. Healthcare payer reimbursement is focused on a healthcare delivery model ill-equipped to address the needs of an aging Baby Boomer population with chronic illness. Payers reward healthcare providers for the quantity of the procedures performed rather than the quality of care delivered.
(Source: Health IT News, March 24, 2009
3/26/2009
Veterans with chronic conditions can manage their health and avoid hospitalization by using home telehealth technology provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in their homes, according to a recent study. The study found a 25 percent reduction in the average number of days hospitalized and a 19 percent reduction in hospitalizations for patients using home telehealth. The data also show that for some patients the cost of telehealth services in their homes averaged $1,600 a year - much lower than in-home clinician care costs.
"The study showed that home telehealth makes health care more effective because it improves patients'' access to care and is easy to use," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. "A real plus is that this approach to care can be sustained because it's so cost-effective and more veteran-centric. Patients in rural areas are increasingly finding that telehealth improves their access to health care and promotes their ongoing relationship with our health care system."
The authors of the study in the current issue of the journal Telemedicine and e-Health are VA national telehealth staff members. The study looked at health outcomes from 17,025 VA home telehealth patients.
VA''s home telehealth program cares for 35,000 patients and is the largest of its kind in the world. Clinicians and managers in health care systems, as well as information technology professionals, have been awaiting the results of the telehealth study, said Dr. Adam Darkins, chief consultant in VA's care coordination program, who led the study.
"The results are not really about the technology, but about how using it helps coordinate the full scope of care our patients need," said Darkins. "It permits us to give the right care in the right place at the right time."
The VA's Under Secretary for Health, Dr. Michael J. Kussman, said the key to the program's success is VA's computerized patient record system. "Data obtained from the home such as blood pressure and blood glucose, along with other patient information in the electronic system, allows our health care teams to anticipate and prevent avoidable problems," he said.
VA health care officials emphasize that home telehealth does not necessarily replace nursing home care or traditional care but can help veterans understand and manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and chronic heart failure. Patients'' partnership with the medical team can delay the need for institutional care and maintain independence for an extended time.
(Source: VA Press Release, March 25, 2009)
3/26/2009
The Approaching Telehealth Revolution in Home Care: New Article on the TIE
A
new article on
home telehealth has recently been published on the TIE's
article section. The article is updated examination of the current state of home care and makes the argument how telehealth is effective tool for improving patient care and creating cost saving efficiencies.
Support the TIE
The ATSP wishes to thank
A&D Medical, sponsors of the TIE's
Home Telehealth section for its continued support. A&D Medical offers innovative products that combine cutting-edge technology and convenience.
The TIE is maintained by the
Association of Telehealth Service Providers, relying on
sponsorships and
memberships in order to maintain operations.
Get Published on the TIE
The Telemedicine Information Exchange welcomes submissions of original articles on topics appropriate for this website. Possible subjects might include commentary on telemedicine/telehealth issues or policy, reports of current research projects, or new applications of telemedicine/telehealth.
2/27/2009
Remote, home-based physiological monitoring of patients with congestive heart failure can save thousands of dollars per patient per year through fewer hospitalizations, according to a new report. The report authors estimate savings of $3,703 per patient per year for those with remote monitoring and disease management programs, and $5,034 for those with remote monitoring and standard care. Consequently, the technology has the potential to save $4.7 billion to $6.4 billion a year.
The New England Healthcare Institute, a Cambridge, Mass.-based independent research firm, has updated a report on remote physiological monitoring it published in 2004. The new data estimates an annual cost of $2,052 per patient for the monitoring technology. Add disease management software to the mix, and that price would go up to $2,802.
The return would come from a 60% reduction in hospital readmissions for patients that have standard care and remote monitoring, and a 50% cut in readmissions for patients that participate in a disease management program along with the monitoring, the report authors estimate.
The full report, entitled the
Research Update: Remote Physiological Monitoring is available for free download
here.
(Source: Health Data Management, January 28, 2009)
2/27/2009
The
Australian state of Queensland has launched a telehealth project in the local government district of Ipswich to improve the efficiency of treatment for patients with chronic disease. The Telehealth Lifestyle Coordination (TLC) project will monitor and manage chronic disease sufferers without the need for patients to leave their homes. If successful, the system could be rolled out nationwide.
The pilot project aims to show that telehealth is a viable alternative – or supplement to –hospital care. Chief Executive Officer of Ipswich Community Aid, Erik Jansink, said that in the long-term future telehealth could become a regular part of Medicare, Australia's health insurance program.
Telehealth enables patients who don't need constant supervision to lead as normal a life as possible, while managing their illness. A small HomeMed unit is installed in a patient's home. The unit instructs the patient to take vital sign readings and ask tailored questions. The vital sign reading is then transmitted over telephone lines to a website where it is checked against pre-set parameters. If any readings exceed pre-set parameters, the data is red-flagged and a healthcare provider alerted.
Queensland Health Minister Stephen Robertson said: "The benefit of telehealth services lies in removing physical and social distances between health professionals and patients without affecting the quality of care provided."
It is expected that about 100 people will be involved in the pilot.
(Source: FutureGov Magazine, February 6, 2009)
India has launched a telemedicine project it says will provide medical education and better health care in
Africa. Launched by Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Delhi, the project will at first connect 11 African countries with India. The services will include virtual classes for medical staff and online medical consultations.
India is highly conscious of China's involvement in Africa and has announced a number of joint projects. Mukherjee described the project as bridging the digital divide between India and Africa.
Patients in parts of rural Africa will soon be able to seek medical advice from Indian doctors via satellite and fiber-optic link-ups. Nurses will get training and virtual classrooms will help around 10,000 African students annually get specialized degrees from universities.
Online medical consultations will be provided every day for one hour to isolated hospitals. To start with, 11 African countries including Ethiopia, Senegal, Nigeria and Ghana will be connected with India.
By June eight more countries will be covered and eventually the offices of 53 African heads of state will be linked.
(Source: BBC News, February 27, 2009)
The first ever US - Israel TeleHealth Business Exchange was held in Atlanta, Georgia on February 24-25. The conference presented an opportunity for telemedicine companies in
Israel to present their innovations to leading companies in North America, as well as meeting with them to further joint venture R&D, investment, and marketing alliances.
Featured technologies included those used by patients or their families to improve the management of chronic disease in the home, such as patient-centric information systems, remote monitoring, patient education, and patient-provider interaction. Israeli companies invited to participate in the event include MediTouch, Vaica Medical, OrSense, Aerotel, ETView and 2P2D Solutions.
"Israel is one of the world's most dynamic sources for high tech companies with original and cutting edge technologies, particularly in the field of medical devices and information technology," said Rick Litzky, event chairman and President of Medical Director Solutions, LLC. "The challenge is that while many of them have created extremely innovative technologies and services, it is often difficult for them to get noticed by the market here.
The event was organized by the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Region.
(Source: Globes Israel Business News, February 23, 2009)
The
European Commission's Directorate General for Health and Consumers (SANCO) is planning to establish a new platform for eHealth and telemedicine in a bid to increase collaboration with health professionals and patients. The platform was recently announced at the Ministerial Conference on eHealth in Prague.
The aim is to integrate citizens and healthcare providers into the planning process of telemedicine projects. This could potentially increase acceptance among users. "Ultimately, the platform will help us to prepare a set of recommendations on how to involve health professionals and patients in the design, validation and implementation of eHealth," said Artur Furtado of DG SANCO.
Setting up a platform like this was among the proposals specified in the Communication on Telemedicine that was issued by the European Commission's Directorate General Information Society and Media (INFSO) in November 2008. INFSO is currently preparing another publication on telemedicine that will be published later in 2009. It includes European best practice examples from the field of telemedicine.
(Source: HealthTech Wire, February 23, 2009)
A national telehealth bill will soon be introduced to the
Philippine Congress. Representative Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya , the co-chair of the Congressional Commission on Science and Technology and Engineering (COMSTE), said that he will file a bill to deploy a national telehealth system across the country.
According to Abaya, "this kind of collaboration among those from the ICT and electronics sectors, the health/medical profession, the academe and us in government is what we all need in this very difficult time. We are talking here about the kind of public-private partnership that is sustainable, and which will bring about a new and much better way in delivering health services to the public, especially to the marginalized."
The deployment is a result of the successful pilot of the UP Manila National TeleHealth Center (UPM-NThC) system led by Dr. Alvin Marcelo, which is currently in service between UPM-NThC and its provincial sites in Batanes, Pasay, Marikina, Quezon Province and Capiz, among others. The current UP Manila telehealth system is able to provide basic electronic health record registry via the Community Health Information System (CHITS), audiovisual education to local health workers and professionals through E-learning and video conferencing, and tele-referral and tele-mentoring to Doctors-to-the-Barrios (DTTB) using SMS technology through the Buddyworks Program.
COMSTE Executive Director Gregory Tangonan said that, "Deploying telemedicine and digitized family medical records in the Philippines translates directly into better baranggay medical services and to the improved wellness of our people. State of the art medicine as practiced in our best public and private hospitals can then serve the under-served in our remotest areas, using our broadband networks." Tangonan said that this exciting new thrust will translate into new medical service industries in the Philippines - new low cost medical instruments, medical software services, vastly improved public health information systems and even a medical tourism interface.
(Source: Philippine Information Agency, February 24, 2009)
More than 400 patients suffering from long-term conditions are set to benefit after NHS Lothian announced it was pioneering the largest telehealth system in
Scotland. NHS Lothian is one of the fourteen regions of national health services of Scotland. The personal healthcare system was first piloted in practices in West Lothian, Midlothian and Edinburgh last year and is now being rolled out to patients across Edinburgh and the Lothians.
The state-of-the-art system allows people with chronic conditions to monitor their own health on a daily basis at home, using touch-screen technology to undertake a range of health tests including blood pressure, breathing, weight and blood glucose and oxygen levels. It also provides wireless connections to medical devices such as peak flow meters and weighing scales.
NHS Lothian has been working closely with the Intel Corporation and Tunstall Healthcare Group to deliver the innovative technology into patients' homes as part of the drive, which is being funded by NHS Lothian and the Scottish Government.
Dr Charles Winstanley, chairman of NHS Lothian, said: "I am delighted that we are now in a position to bring this advanced technology to so many patients. This is another fine example of innovation in healthcare in Lothian."
And Scottish health secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, added: "Using technology in innovative ways like this can transform people's lives. This touch-screen technology will save hundreds of people from making repeated trips into hospital, making a huge difference to their quality of life.
"I am very excited by the potential for telehealth to bring care as close to home as possible and,in this case, into people's own homes. By harnessing all that new technologies can offer us we can also make care quicker and safer and invest in a 21st-century health service to be proud of."
In this rollout around 400 patients will receive training on the system and its success will be measured as part of a randomized controlled trial by the University of Edinburgh.
Dr Brian McKinstry, an NHS Lothian GP working in Blackburn and lead clinician in the pilot study, said: "This initiative offers excellent benefits to patients by allowing them more control of their condition. It allows the patient to carry out self-monitoring while still being supervised by a clinician. This ensures the safe management of the patient, provides added reassurance and more frequent patient, clinician contact. The telehealth system provides early monitoring of the patient's condition, thereby preventing the condition worsening and reducing the need for unplanned hospital admissions."
Similar-sized trials in other countries have shown the system can reduce hospital admissions by around 30%.
(Source: Healthcare Equipment and Supplies Magazine, February 27, 2009)
2/27/2009
Home Telehealth holds the potential of both improving care and saving money by reducing hospitalizations, visits to emergency departments and home health visits. It also could create a small industry.
Honeywell HomMed is among the companies that stands to benefit from the adoption of telehealth. The company, founded in 1999 and bought by Honeywell International Inc. in 2004, was among the pioneers in telehealth. It now has about 60,000 systems placed with customers.
Its monitors can remotely be programmed to ask 52 questions in 13 languages. They include general questions, such as whether a patient is feeling better today, as well as specific questions, such as whether a patient is experiencing swelling in his or her legs.
Honeywell HomMed, with revenue of roughly $25 million a year, is a minuscule business for its parent company, which has revenue of $36 billion a year. But the company expects telehealth to touch every part of the health care system within five years.
Several of the world's largest electronic companies - Philips Electronics, Robert Bosch North America, Panasonic Corp. - have bought or started telehealth companies. Intel Corp. recently entered the market.
A slew of small companies also hope to profit.
"It's definitely a growth market," said Paul Keckley, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. Customers include small home health care companies, national chains and health care systems. That's one of the challenges facing Honeywell HomMed and its competitors.
"It's a totally fragmented market," said Mike Benjamin, president of Honeywell HomMed. The biggest obstacle to wider use of the technology, however, is that Medicare and most commercial health plans don't pay for the service.
That gives home health care agencies little incentive to invest in the technology. If a remote monitor prevents a patient from being hospitalized, Medicare or a health plan saves money, but the home health care agency doesn't share in those savings.
(Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 1, 2009‎)
A Utah man is working on a
voice-activated telemedicine system. Currently in contract with the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, Dave Kadlec spends most days in a small office at Utah State University's Innovation Campus creating voice commands and writing computer code. The official name of the voice-activation process is the Augmented Instructional System.
"Say some poor guy got lost from his platoon with a wounded buddy," Kadlec says. "He can ask this program, 'What can I do?'" According to Kadlec, the computer could then send the soldier medical information about helping the wounded person.
Instead of being connected to the Internet, Kadlec says the government project he is working on has created a different type of interface. Basically, it means the technology does not have to be connected to the Internet to work. Not being connected to the Internet also means there is less fear of viruses and hackers messing with the system.
Being a hands-free device means helpful information can get to a soldier quicker than if the soldier had to write down a command, send it electronically or through radio signals, and wait for a written response. Now, the response comes in voice form.
"I want it to be able to say, 'Patient, 18 years old, 150 pounds, blown off right leg' and have it come back with proper procedure for that," Kadlec says.
The device may only require a wireless microphone and earpiece (to create the hands-free effect) to be hooked to a uniform. Kadlec is currently in phase two of the three-phase process.
Ray DeVito, director of USU's Technology Commercialization Office, says he first learned about Kadlec's product when Kadlec was an undergraduate student. DeVito says he and others saw the potential for commercialization so they tried to help Kadlec find some means to move the product forward. Since Kadlec's graduation, DeVito says he tries to keep in touch and offer advice when he can.
DeVito's son is an army medic and has been deployed to Iraq twice. When his son heard about the technology, DeVito says his son saw good possibilities for practical use.
"He knows what it is to sit there and to have easy access to information so he could see a lot of potential for training and for medics constantly going into the army," DeVito says.
For Kadlec, writing this kind of software seems strange today considering he didn't even know how to turn on a computer a few years ago. After hurting his back after working as a landscaper for 20 years, the 50-year-old decided to take a beginning computer class at Bridgerland Applied Technology College. Later, during a USU class, Kadlec created his initial voice-activated computer program for a school project. After showing it to the department head, Kadlec says things started rolling.
"He said, 'I want to help you with this,' and so I made an appointment with the USU research foundation office," Kadlec says.
Eventually, Kadlec wrote proposals to different organizations asking for grants. Halfway through Kadlec's doctorate program, a military grant for his voice-activated technology came through.
Initially, Kadlec thought his technology would be an education tool.
"The hardest thing has been keeping it simple," he says. "Most teaching tools are overly complicated."
Once he started working with the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, however, his view shifted. Kadlec realized his technology could help the army in a more direct way, and possibly save soldiers' lives.
"The invention is just making pieces of software work together in a way they've never worked together," he says.
(Source: Logan Herald Journal, February 25, 2009)
AMD Global Telemedicine recently announced that with its recent shipment to France, AMD equipment is now installed in 74 countries. With the addition of the new site in France, AMD customer sites now total more than 5,200 worldwide.
Dan McCafferty, Vice President of Global Sales and Corporate Development at AMD Global Telemedicine stated, "Our recent success is a great accomplishment for AMD and proves how quickly telemedicine in general is growing. I firmly believe if you combine the new reimbursement laws, the telemedicine funding in the 2009 Stimulus Bill with AMD's new technology, telemedicine is on the rise. This is a very exciting time for AMD Global Telemedicine."
(Source: AMD Telemedicine Press Release, February 27, 2009)
PDS Health recently announced that it received a contract for the use of their proprietary hardware and online software to study telemedicine on certain types of patients in a major hospital system.
The study uses MDmonitor for analyzing the data submitted by the Telehealth monitor that is placed in each patient's home. The system does not require that the patient has a computer, so it's convenient and inexpensive. The study will continue until May 2009 clinical research study.
For this clinical study a Blood pressure monitor will be used, possibly together with a glucose monitor at a later stage. MDmonitor lets patient data be accessed online and keeps information updated, either by care giver's staff, the patient, or the patient's other health professionals. MDMonitor keeps medical data update, analyzes information and can remind patients to take medications.
(Source: PDS Health Press Release, Feb 25, 2009)
Honeywell HomMed recently announced that Terry Duesterhoeft has assumed the role of president of Honeywell HomMed, an industry leader in telehealth and remote patient monitoring, in addition to his current role of vice president of sales and marketing.
Since joining Honeywell HomMed in October 2006, Duesterhoeft has led marketing, product development and sales and has been the driving force in developing Honeywell HomMed's expanded vision and growth strategy. Prior to Honeywell HomMed, he held leadership roles in venture-backed startups, including co-founder and chief marketing officer of XStor Medical Systems in Mountain View, Calif., and vice president of strategic marketing at ZONARE Medical Systems. He also held several marketing and product development executive roles at GE Medical Systems, including global marketing manager with the ultrasound business during its exponential growth to a $1B business.
(Source: Honeywell HomMed Press Release, February 26, 2009)
