2012 a “Pivotal Year” for Healthcare Transformation, Says Shehata in ATA Preview.

This is the year Cisco healthcare technology moves from creating simple collaboration environments to true innovation workspaces that generate value, particularly for accountable care organizations (ACOs) focused on quality and efficiency, said Cisco’s Ash Shehata in an online briefing to industry thought leaders.
Shehata, Cisco’s Senior Executive Director, Healthcare Business Transformation for the US, Canada, and Latin America, addressed invited bloggers and web journalists in advance of the American Telemedicine Association conference April 29 in San Jose.
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Tags: Accountable Care, ACO, ATA, healthcare, telemedicine

Government support for healthcare (telehealth or telemedicine) technologies continues to gain momentum across the globe. The latest examples in Scotland and California emphasize improved medical care and reduced costs from adoption of technologies such as telepresence, home monitoring and Internet services.

A recent Guardian article highlights a report from the Scottish auditor which urges NHS to consider telehealth when developing or redesigning services. The report sets out a series of questions for NHS boards to ask around improved access, increased capacity, cost avoidance and health benefits. They include: Are any patients unable to access the current service because of geography? Do clinical staff have to do more than a four hour round trip to deliver the current service? Could using telehealth potentially reduce hospital admissions? Hopefully NHS takes this recommendation seriously and starts to make some serious headway on the telehealth front. Read More »

Tags: american telemedicine association, ATA, healthcare, healthpresence, telehealth, telemedicine, TelePresence, video conferencing, videoconferencing