The AT&T Center for Telehealth Research and Policy at UTMB

Daily FYI

September 14, 2009

Digital tools let doctors see patients via Internet

Source: Baltimore Sun

'Telehealth' gains amid prospect of shortage, insurers' acceptance... Thanks to factors including a looming physician shortage, the health care reform debate and the increasing willingness of insurance companies to pay for the practice, telehealth is on the verge of becoming routine.

In the near future you could be connected by video to a specialist dozens or hundreds of miles away. Consider something as mundane as a skin rash. If your primary care doctor thinks she needs outside expertise, she can use digital diagnostic tools to generate high-resolution images of the rash and beam them to a dermatologist in another office for rapid diagnosis.

Telemedicine Eyed as Way To Boost Efficiency, Reduce Health Costs

Source: iHealthBeat

Telemedicine is gaining acceptance because of a variety of factors, including a looming physician shortage, the larger health care reform debate and health plans' increasing willingness to reimburse for the practice, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Policy experts say that telemedicine can boost efficiency at a time when physicians and health professionals are in limited supply. The use of available and inexpensive telehealth technology also can help improve patients' access to health care, the Sun reports.

Arizona Telemedicine Program To Establish New Resource Center

Source: iHealthBeat

The Arizona Telemedicine Program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine has received a $1.13 million federal grant to create the Southwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center, the Arizona Daily Star reports (Arizona Daily Star, 9/12).

New Industry Analyst Report Recommends Tech-Enabled Home Health Care

Source: eMediaWire

Today home monitoring and telehealth technology markets, self-care technologies, retail clinics, and use of online websites help individuals and caregivers to more effectively manage chronic disease. By 2020, providers and patients will willingly participate in a process of calibrated care - matching the right level of care at the right time and right place - through lower-cost, technology-enabled and closer-to home interactions.

Healthcare delivery needs to get serious about using technology, according to a new report by Aging in Place Technology Watch. "We have consensus that health care cost growth is unsustainable, but obvious technology-enabled solutions are both available and still largely ignored. But by 2020, consumers will insist on and care providers shift to a more tech-enabled process, says Laurie Orlov, principal analyst and author of the report "Calibrated Care is Closer to Home."

How emerging wireless techs are transforming healthcare

Source: The Industry Standard

When carriers announce plans to build out faster 4G wireless networks or to ramp up the speeds of their current 3G network, talk typically turns to how it will benefit consumer applications such as mobile gaming or high-definition video streaming.

2008 wireless/mobile companies to watch 12 cool ways to donate your PC's spare processing powerBut perhaps an even more important aspect of increased mobile data speeds will be their impact on the mobile "telehealth" devices that doctors are increasingly using to keep track of their patients' conditions.

Videoconferencing Tools Help Specialists Evaluate Stroke Patients in Remote Areas

Source: iHealthBeat

Remote and rural hospitals are beginning to adopt teleconferencing tools to improve patient access to stroke specialists.

Recent research suggests that virtual examinations of stroke patients are as effective as bedside evaluations

LifeWatch and Verizon Wireless to Expand Healthcare Telemedicine Solutions

Source: PRNewswire

LifeWatch Services, Inc., the leading provider of wireless telemedicine services in the United States, today announced that it has reached an exclusive agreement with Verizon Wireless, the nation's leading wireless service provider. Under this agreement, Verizon Wireless will be the preferred network for LifeWatch's successful remote monitoring service for cardiac patients.