Enhanced telehealth solution increases options for providing care-at-a-distance
SAN JOSE, Calif., November 14, 2011 – Today Cisco announced the general availability of the newest version of Cisco HealthPresence® technology, an advanced care-at-a-distance platform that connects patients and clinicians via high-definition video, audio, medical devices and collaboration tools. The updated solution provides new deployment options with enhanced security and efficiency capabilities to deliver patient care from a wider range of locations. Cisco HealthPresence also supports integrated workflow features to improve information exchange by increasing access to data such as electronic medical records.
Saint Thomas Health, a family of hospitals based in Tennessee, is using Cisco HealthPresence to provide healthcare access to patients in areas where medical resources are scarce, while also helping to improve care delivery and outcomes. MissionPoint Health Partners, founded by Saint Thomas Health, is a new platform for healthcare delivery that brings doctors, nurses, hospitals and other care providers together to share the responsibility for keeping patients healthy. Cisco HealthPresence is key to helping MissionPoint Health Partners meet Accountable Care Organization standards set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this year.
Cisco HealthPresence also helps medical professionals provide care to patients in hard-to-reach areas. Doctors at Telerad RxDx, a multi-specialty hospital in Bangalore, India, have been using Cisco HealthPresence to provide medical care to patients living in Raichur, located in North Karnataka in India. Based on successful initial results, Telerad RxDx plans to increase deployment of Cisco’s telehealth services to continue to improve healthcare delivery in remote locations.
Cisco HealthPresence works with medical diagnostic equipment, such as stethoscopes and otoscopes, to capture patient information, while also allowing patients to interactively discuss their conditions with their physicians remotely using Cisco HealthPresence’s high-definition video and rich audio. In addition to connecting care teams and patients in rural communities, Cisco HealthPresence is also being utilized in urban environments to help doctors see more patients within a given session and facilitate training and information exchange between healthcare providers around the world.
Facts:
- The introduction of a new Cisco HealthPresence solution follows the recent launch of the Cisco TelePresence® VX Clinical Assistant, a lightweight, highly mobile telemedicine cart that allows for remote patient consultations, virtual care, education and collaboration.
- Cisco HealthPresence is classified as a Class I medical device by the FDAand is available in the United States, Europe, Mexico, Jordan, Australia and India.
- Updates to Cisco HealthPresence bring broader video endpoint support and interoperability for increased choice and convenience, including:
- Mobile cart integration with the Cisco TelePresence System Clinical Presence to allow for specialist consults at the point of care;
- Desktop solution to allow for telehealth consultations in remote locations with low bandwidth availability;
- Interoperability between TelePresence supported endpoints (CTS 500-37, CTS EX 60/EX 90 and CTS C40/C20) for greater flexibility.
- Cisco HealthPresence offers improved collaboration and clinical workflow features, including:
- Electronic medical record (EMR) API with popular EMR systems;
- Chat collaboration tool to enable quick, highly secure communication with remote experts;
- ePen integration for the simplified writing of electronic prescriptions;
- Appointment queuing for patient prioritization and appointment management.
- Cisco HealthPresence is available as an on-premise or managed service offering and is easy to deploy and manage.
- Business-to-business functionality allows for broader collaboration among a community of experts.
- Hosted service deployments ease adoption and scalability.
- HealthPresence can also provide enhanced security and patient data for HIPAA compliance.
Supporting Quotes:
Jason Dinger, chief executive officer, MissionPoint Health Partners, a division of Saint Thomas Health
“With a shortage of medical professionals in our underserved communities in Tennessee, the Cisco HealthPresence solution bridges the gap between patients in rural areas and physicians or specialists who aren’t always available locally. With Cisco HealthPresence whole communities open up for you to be able to deliver care in an efficient and affordable way. Our hope is that we can expand HealthPresence to new communities, bring more specialists on board and increase care to more patients.”
Dr. Sunita Maheshwari, chief dreamer, RxDx and Teleradiology Solutions
“Our doctors at RxDx have been using Cisco HealthPresence to help patients in Raichur, a poverty-stricken district in North Karnataka in India. With Cisco HealthPresence, villagers have quickly adapted from having no doctor in their area, to having remote access to a whole care team, including general physicians and specialists. For example, in India, using the digital stethoscope, RxDx cardiologists have been able to identify and begin treatment for heart lesions with a number of patients, and the average number of patients seen per session has increased 90% during the last year of telemedicine operations.”
Vishal Gupta, VP/general manager, Cisco Global Healthcare Solutions
“Faced with increased patient loads, rising cost and lack of medical professionals, health systems globally are challenged to meet demands for quality care for their specific market needs. Cisco HealthPresence is making it possible for patients to connect with the physician or specialist most suited for their needs, whether it’s in a medical kiosk in a remote village or a mobile cart in an urban hospital. By utilizing our strengths in video, collaboration and the network as a platform, HealthPresence underscores Cisco’s commitment to the transformation of healthcare delivery and quality care-at-a-distance.”
Supporting Resources:
About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO, news, filings) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in India is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.
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