Report: Patient-monitoring tech could save $200B in health costs by 2033

“Remotely monitoring patients with chronic diseases could cut nearly $200 billion from the country’s health care costs in the next 25 years, according to a new study by economist Robert Litan.”
Article
Nancy Ferris, Government Health IT, 24 October 2008

Teleradiology paves way for remote medicine

“On a computer monitor in his office in the high-tech hub of Bangalore, Indian radiologist Arjun Kalyanpur examines a scan of the skull of a six-year-old boy who fell off his bicycle.
A few minutes later, thousands of miles away, doctors at a hospital in Philadelphia prepare the boy for surgery after receiving an urgent email from Kalyanpur diagnosing a subdural hemorrhage in the child’s brain.”
Article
Kavita Chandran, Reuters, 14 October 2008

Intel gets approval for telecare device

“Intel has received market clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a new personal telehealth system, called Intel Health Guide.
The new telecare device, which has been tested in the US and UK, is described as a care management tool for healthcare professionals who manage patients with chronic conditions.
Intel says the device serves as a new category of ‘personal health system’ that can be connected to a range of wired and wireless patient monitoring devices, sending personal data to a secure server.”
Article
e-Health Insider, 14 July 2008

Intel gets FDA OK for personal health system

“Intel Corp, the world’s biggest computer chip maker, said on Thursday it won clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell a personal in-home health monitoring system for patients with chronic conditions.
The system, called Health Guide, combines an in-home patient device as well as online access that enables healthcare professionals to monitor patients and remotely manage care.”
Article
Reuters UK, 10 July 2008

IBA soars with Flying Docs

“IBA Health Group has won a $2.7 million contract with the Royal Flying Doctor Service to build a centralised electronic medical record system for its far-flung patients.
As part of the e-Health for Remote Australia project, IBA will create a broadband electronic medical records platform based on iSoft’s web primary care suite, to provide essential clinical information wherever it is needed.”
Article
Karen Dearne, Australian IT, 1 July 2008

Multiple benefits of remote patient monitoring devices increase their potential

“In the past, healthcare executives were not supportive of remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices because of the costs involved. However, the quality and benefits of available RMP technology are making the devices increasingly attractive.”
Article
HealthTech Wire, 1 July 2008

The Telehealth Promise-Better Health Care and Cost Savings for the 21st Century

“The growing cost of medical care and gaps in coverage are creating enormous pressure on both providers and public policymakers to identify new strategies for delivering cost-effective and quality care to all citizens. Many health care experts believe that part of the answer lies with telehealth applications made possible by the increasing power of information technology and the spread of broadband connectivity. Indeed, we believe widespread implementation of telehealth could save the U.S. health care system $4.28 billion just from reducing transfers of patients from one location, such as a nursing home, for medical exams at hospitals, physicians’ offices, or other caregiver locations. When appropriate diagnosis and care can be provided remotely
via telemedicine, a patient transfer creates unnecessary cost as well as hardship for the patient.”
Report
Alexander H. Vo, UTMB, May 2008

Virtual Health Care Worker Could Save Patient Time And Nursing Resources

“With search engine companies establishing online personal health records for their users and surgeons on the brink of making robotic surgery routine, it makes sense to have a remote medical care system that can support nursing staff, care managers and other healthcare workers. Writing in the International Journal of Web and Grid Services from Inderscience Publishers, a Japanese team describes a proposal for such a system.”
Article
Science Daily, 27 May 2008

Call for e-health to ‘permeate’ rural Scotland

“E-health should permeate thinking about every aspect of remote and rural healthcare, according to a newly-published report on healthcare in remote areas of Scotland.”
Article
e-Health Insider Primary Care, 27 May 2008

Virtual medical care approach could save patient time, nursing resources

“A team of Japanese experts says that the time has come when researchers should start working on a virtual medical care system that might support nursing staff, care managers and other healthcare workers.”
Article
New Kerala.com, 25 May 2008

‘Net, Video Tools Successful in Lung Disease Management

“A program that uses video conferencing, the Internet and other technologies to provide pulmonary rehabilitation helps improve the condition of chronic lung disease patients in rural and remote areas, according to a Canadian study.”
Article
Forbes, 22 May 2008

Johns Hopkins boosts telehealth service

“Johns Hopkins Medicine International will use telehealth technology to boost its global “medical second opinion” service, which allows physicians from the hospital to review remote patient cases.
JHI will be using Houston-based Eceptionist’s Telehealth and Triage Manager modules to manage the medical second opinion (MSO) service between Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and affiliate hospitals around the world.”
Article
Molly Merrill, Healthcare IT News, 23 May 2008

Remote care to drive healthcare wireless market, not hospitals

“While hospitals in the United States and Europe are increasingly using wireless technology to automate patient care, it is technology supporting remote care that will drive the market for wireless-based medical devices and applications, says a new report.”
Article
Richard Pizzi, Healthcare IT News, 16 May 2008

Wireless to take healthcare out of hospitals

“Hospitals in the US and Europe are increasingly using wireless technology to automate patient care and back office processes. However, according to a report published by Cambridge UK based analysts, Wireless Healthcare, it is technology that supports remote care that will drive the market for wireless based medical devices and applications.”
Article
News-Medical.net, 14 May 2008

The virtues of virtual visits

“Rush-Presbyterian Medical Center’s Virtual Integrated Practice (VIP) is more evidence that remote health care can improve health outcomes.
At Rush, a team has been refining the VIP model for the past four years. The VIP’s objective is to improve chronic disease management for older people by deploying an interdisciplinary team using communications technology.”
Article
Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, The Health Care Blog, 7 May 2008

Talking Up A New Role For Cell Phones In Telemedicine

“After launching a communications revolution, cell phones are talking up a potentially life-saving new role in telemedicine — the use of telecommunications technology to provide medical diagnosis and patient care when doctors and patients are hundreds or thousands of miles apart. Researchers in the United States and Brazil describe development of a simple, inexpensive telemedicine system that uses ordinary cell phone cameras to collect medical data from patients and transmit the data to experts located offsite for analysis and diagnosis.”
Article
Science Daily, 5 May 2008

Home Monitoring Program Improves Outcomes for Heart Patients

“Remote monitoring can improve the condition of mobile heart failure patients and may reduce hospital readmissions, according to a pilot study that included 150 patients admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.”
Article
Washington Post, 1 May 2008

Equipping a Mobile Nurse

“The advent of wireless technology has made it possible for mobile health care professionals to access patient records, test results and other critical information from the field. While much of this focus is centered on computing from within the traditional hospital campus, a growing number of clinicians are traveling to patients’ homes, which requires remote connectivity to improve communication and to keep patient records up to date.”
Article
Andy Willett, HHNMostWired, 23 April 2008

Remote Patient Monitoring

“Readers of Telemedicine and e-Health will remember the published summary of an expert panel discussion on remote health services (2007;13(3):341–347). One clear message emerging from the above roundtable was that fully mature technology is now available to host numerous patient care applications. Just a few years ago remote patient monitoring was regarded as still experimental, albeit with great potential to reduce healthcare costs.
Perhaps the Baby Boom generation, with its take-charge attitude toward health, is most responsible for the field’s explosive growth, particularly in the last five years. There are ready-made audiences for such technology. Baby Boomers are worried not only about their own health but also about keeping their elderly parents safe, healthy, and secure. This is particularly attractive when geographic distances prevent frequent family visits.”
Article
Kevin D. Blanchet, Telemedicine and e-Health, March 1, 2008, 14(2): 127-130, doi:10.1089/tmj.2008.9989

Renowned economist touts benefits of medical technology in controlling health care costs, increasing productivity

“One of the nation’s most influential health care economists today highlighted the role of advanced medical technologies in managing costs and promoting greater productivity in the health care system.
Speaking at the Advanced Medical Technology Association’s (AdvaMed) 2008 Annual Meeting, Uwe Reinhardt, Ph.D., professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University, stressed that medical technology will play a key role in containing health care costs. He estimated that at current projections, health care expenditures could account for 38 percent of the U.S. GDP (gross domestic product) by 2050.”
Article
HealthTech Wire, 18 March 2008

Mobile teledermatology: a feasibility study of 58 subjects using mobile phones

“Abstract:
We investigated the diagnostic agreement between teledermatology based on images from a mobile phone camera and face-to-face (FTF) dermatology. Diagnostic agreement was assessed for two teledermatologists (TD) in comparison with FTF consultations in 58 subjects. In almost three-quarters of the cases (TD1: 71%; TD2: 76%), the telediagnosis was fully concordant with the FTF diagnosis. Furthermore, the diagnosed diseases were almost all in the same diagnostic category (TD1: 97%; TD2: 90%). If mobile teledermatology had been used for remote triage, TD1 could have treated 53% subjects remotely and 47% subjects would have had to consult a dermatologist FTF. TD2 could have treated 59% subjects remotely, whereas 41% subjects would have had to consult a dermatologist FTF. Forty-eight subjects responded to a questionnaire, of whom only 10 had any concerns regarding teledermatology. Thirty-one subjects stated that they would be willing to pay to use a similar service in future and suggested an amount ranging from €5 to €50 per consultation (mean €22) (€ = £0.7, US $1.4). These results are encouraging as patient acceptance and reimbursement represent potential obstacles to the implementation of telemedicine services.”
Abstract
Ebner, Christoph; Wurm, Elisabeth M.T.; Binder, Barbara; Kittler, Harald; Lozzi, Gian Piero; Massone, Cesare; Gabler, Gerald; Hofmann-Wellenhof, Rainer; Soyer, H Peter, Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, Volume 14, Number 1, January 2008 , pp. 2-7(6)

Calif. docs participate in remote monitoring program for diabetics

“Local physicians in Southern California will be part of a remote monitoring project of patients with diabetes.
The physicians will be a part of XTend Medical Corporation’s Medical Disease Management Program, which will initially target 500 diabetes patients.”
Article
Molly Merrill, Healthcare IT News, 15 February 2008

Face to face with the future of remote medical consultations

“When Anne Urquhart of Aberdeen arrived in hospital with an injured toe last week, she was surprised when the doctor asked if she could examine her via a video screen. Aberdeen Royal Infirmary is conducting the NHS’s latest experiment in telemedicine - the decades-old idea of diagnosing and treating medical conditions via electronic links rather than face-to-face.
The trial’s backers, who include the networking company Cisco, say a new set of technologies called telepresence, coupled with new pressures on the NHS, could make the experience commonplace.”
Article
Michael Cross, The Guardian, 7 February 2008

Belfast to get European Centre for Connected Healt

“Belfast, Northern Ireland, is to be the home of a new ‘European Centre for Connected Health’, intended to help test technologies that enable people with chronic conditions live independently at home.
NI Health Minister Michael McGimpsey and Economy Minister Nigel Dodds announced the establishment of the centre at last week’s Connected Health Conference, held in Belfast.”
Article
e-Health Insider Primary Care, 29 January 2008

Remotely healthy: Monitors keep track of patients from a distance

“Every day, Robert McDonald, 89, who lives in a Homestead assisted living community, hooks up to a monitor and checks his blood pressure, reports on the ease of his breathing and, twice a day, pricks his finger for a blood sugar count.”
Article
Georgia Tasker, Miami Herald, 6 November 2006

Report & Update - Canadian Society of Telehealth Annual Meeting 2007

“I have been attending the Canadian Society of Telehealth Annual Meeting in St. John’s Newfoundland which runs November 5th and 6th. At this time, although Telehealth is out of scope for the majority of physicians who are implementing EMR systems in their practices, the boundaries between are becoming less defined. In time, Telehealth, EMR and EHR will become integrated with one another as patient care is provided remotely or via face to face consultations as integral components of the EMR.”
Article
Alan Brookstone , CanadianEMR, 5 November 2007

Remote monitoring first for Amsterdam hospital

“St. Lucas Andreas Hospital, Amsterdam has become the first in the Netherlands to introduce a remote monitoring system for cardiac patients into its daily operations.”
Article
e-Health Europe, 2 November 2007

Robot-teacher in the operating room

Editorial: Health monitoring saves lives, money

“New technologies that remotely collect and transmit health data are available; more are being developed every year. Devices can monitor vital signs and heart conditions of patients at home, for example, to alert doctors to problems and prevent or reduce costly office and hospital visits.”
Article
Star Tribune, 12 August 2007

Methodological Issues for the Information Model of a Knowledge-based Telehealthcare System for Nephrology (Nefrotel)

Manuel Prado, Laura M. Roa and Javier Reina-Tosina
Biomedical Engineering Group; Signal Theory and Communications Group, University of Seville, Spain

Abstract

Several studies point out the paradox that classic telemedicine by which doctor interacts remotely with patients in real-time is disappearing despite it has not been widely adopted yet. Many cues indicate that health information technologies will be finally adopted because of the growth in health expenditure and the emerging healthcare challenges. Notwithstanding, a detailed analysis of the referred concern has led us to propose a shift in the paradigm of telemedicine systems.

This paper presents the major methodological issues of the information model of a novel telehealthcare system for nephrology (Nefrotel) which supports the cited shift in the paradigm. With this objective, we first revise the technological requirements of the database of Nefrotel, and second analyze the current scenario of health information model standards.

Our study has shown that it is possible to ensure the compliance and evolution of Nefrotel with information model standards, maximizing its interoperability.