California to host next-generation telemedicine tech

Cisco, the world’s leadingsupplier of networking technology, is piloting what it is touting as a “transformative” telemedicine program at 15 sites in California, in partnership with several community centers, Molina Healthcare and the state of California.

Transformative because Cisco is claiming that the use of its “HealthPresence” technology provides a better experience than both in-person visits between doctor and patient, and previous video-enabled telemedicine.

The medical profession has not changed much in 60 years, John Chambers, chairman and chief executive of Cisco, told a press conference Jan. 15. But over the next couple of years, the new initiative will show how to provide medical care using “new world solutions.”

If it works, he said it could help bring comprehensive medical care to every citizen in California.

Cisco has been using this kind of technology to provide medical services to its own employees for several years, and has itself piloted HealthPresence in various clinical settings.

Cisco HealthPresence combines state-of-the-art medical diagnostic equipment with such things as high-definition cameras, electronic stethoscopes and high-speed networking to enable both primary doctors and specialists to confer with other doctors and patients at a distance, in real-time.

Current telemedicine technology also provides for remote consultations, but rarely for the real-time experience Cisco claims for its solution. Relatively slow network links between major city medical centers and remote hospitals and clinics limit the kind of  diagnostic equipment that can be used, for example, and treatment often has to be spread over several telemedicine sessions.

With the kind of technology and services HealthPresence provides, patients can also participate more directly in the consultations and treatment, Cisco said.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said his state is a natural host for this program, as it’s been laying the groundwork for such initiatives since 2006 when it formed a group to map California’s broadband needs, and in 2007 created the California Telemedicine Network. It also set aside $200 million to help train doctors to use advanced communications technology.

All the sites involved in the pilot program are expected to be fully operational within the next six months.