/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ TelehealthNews..Vol. 3 No.1......May 1999 /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ Welcome to the TelehealthNews, the Internet Telehealth resource for health professionals. Please feel free to pass this newsletter onto your friends and colleagues. Subscribing/unsubscribing information: http://telehealth.net/subscribe/subscribe_telenews.html See our entire Telehealth.net website at: <http://telehealth.net> /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ SPONSORS : 2 Confer -- Since 1980, 2CONFER has emerged as an industry leader in meeting technology integration, helping companies make the right choices for their audio, video, data and networking applications. http://www.2confer.com Visit the Institute for Life Empowerment -- computerized protocols for mental health assessment & treatment at http://mentalhealthhelp.com/ Williams Conferencing -- The Williams Communications Solutions team represents the nation’s largest independent sales and support organization for premise-based business communications solutions. http://www.wilcom.com/ /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ TABLE OF CONTENTS Part I 1. Feature Article: Interactive Videoconference Center Design 2. Active Telehealth Project # 1: Partners HealthCare System, Inc. Active Telehealth Project # 2: Lake City Community College Active Telehealth Project # 3: Virginia Department of Corrections Active Telehealth Project # 4: Distance Learning Network (DLN) 3. Politics and Policy 4. Telehealth Professional Associations: Update TelehealthNews Review Board /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ FEATURED ARTICLE: Interactive Videoconference Center Design by Jerome Hodges For an eyeful of information about how to design and develop an interactive video conference center, see this article: http://telehealth.net/videocon/videocon.html /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ POLITICS & POLICY: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act http://www.hipaasource.com/ http://www.cobracompliance.com/index.html http://www.auxillium.com/hipaa.htm http://www.nationalpartnership.org/healthcare/hipaa/guide.htm http://www.insurancebenefit.com/hippainfo.htm http://www.aafp.org/gov/961216-3.html The Utah System of Higher Education --Technology and Distance Education Initiative http://www.utahsbr.edu/tech/intro.htm /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ ACTIVE TELEHEALTH PROJECT #1: Partners HealthCare System, Inc Partners HealthCare System, Inc., is an urban, integrated delivery network serving Eastern Massachusetts and headquartered in Boston. Other affiliates of Partners HealthCare System include Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, North Shore Medical Center, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, approximately 900 primary care physicians, and a number of affiliated community hospitals and clinics. Partners works to shape the future of medicine by researching telecommunications and information technologies to provide improved access to medical information, diagnostic tools and consultative services. Partners recognizes that the impact of telemedicine on patient care is potentially enormous. It ensures that clinicians, both within the Partners community and worldwide, have continuous and immediate access to the most advanced medical support. Telemedicine has allowed countries to add thousands of specialists at a fraction of the cost of staffing a single, small hospital. Additionally, by broadening avenues of communication among clinicians, particularly through remote medical education, it has the potential to foster more uniform international approaches to health care delivery. Partners Telemedicine conducts physician-to-physician clinical consultations in almost 30 countries in the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. In addition to the clinical consultations, Partners Telemedicine has an active program of research to investigate utilization of advanced communication technologies to improve care and lower costs. Studies of remote dermatology, echocardiology, stroke management, vascular wound management, and congestive heart failure are under way. Finally, Partners Telemedicine has created a 60 node videoconferencing capability to facilitate physician and allied health professionals continuing education, foster integration of the residency programs conducted at disparate affiliated sites, and export the intellectual resources of the Partners specialists to other physicians world-wide. Partners Telemedicine offers consultation to other hospitals, clinics and medical systems that may want to investigate telemedicine, as well as conducting executive briefings and tailored seminars for private sector businesses that want to learn more about telemedicine and its potential impact on their industry segments. For further information about Partners Telemedicine, visit their Web site at http://telemedicine.partners.org, e-mail them at [log in to unmask], or call (617) 724-8863. _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ ACTIVE TELEHEALTH PROJECT # 2: Lake City Community College How We Built a $700,000 System on $40,000 and a Vision by Duffy Soto Lake City Community College is one of 28 state supported community colleges in Florida and is among the smallest and most rural. Yet the college operates one of the most modern and comprehensive compressed video teleconferencing networks in the state. Using very unique and creative strategies, the college was able to build the $700,000 system with only $40,000 of its own money. The rest was obtained through the crafty recruitment of a diverse group of partners from both the public and private sector who were attracted to the idea because of the system’s multi purpose use concept. In order to become a partner, the College required a nominal commitment that could be “pooled” to create a match base for grant applications. Using the initial pool of cash and “in-kind” put forth by the partners as match, the college wrote and applied for funding from four different grant sources. In each instance the grant readers were so impressed with Lake City Community College’s unique approach that all of the sources provided funding for the project--- to the tune of more than $581,000. The Lake City Community College system is composed of seven multi-point capable compressed video sites linking a geographic area roughly twice the size of the state of Rhode Island. The College can conduct up to four separate conferences at a single time across an almost unlimited geographic range throughout the world. The system incorporates a wide variety of learning tools including satellite conferencing integration, links to health care givers, Internet access and information sharing interfaces, videotape, multi camera angles, PC applications and more. If you’d like to learn more about Lake City Community College and how they went from nowhere to near the top of Florida’s digital delivery ladder in three short years using little of their own money, contact Mr. Duffy Soto at: <[log in to unmask]> or by phone at (904) 752-1822 extension 1241. Duffy Soto, Dean, Technology and Innovation Lake City Community College, Lake City, Florida /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ ACTIVE TELEHEALTH PROJECT # 3: Virginia Department of Corrections Telemedicine Program by Robert Higginison In 1995, the Virginia General Assembly provided funds to initiate a feasibility pilot program for the use of telemedicine to assist with the care of inmates within the Virginia Department of Corrections. Since October 1995, telemedicine clinics have been operating at Powhatan Correctional Center to assist with the care of HIV-infected inmates. The program is a cooperative effort between infectious disease specialists from Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia Hospitals (VCU/MCVH) and the medical and nursing staff at Powhatan Correctional Center (PCC). Telemedicine clinics for inmates at PCC are also conducted for cardiology, hepatitis and oral surgery, with assistance from other departments within VCU/MCVH. The HIV-infected inmates are initially evaluated at the MCVH's Infectious Disease Clinic, and can then be seen for follow-up appointments through the telemedicine clinic. The telemedicine program is available for inmates at PCC and for inmates housed in other institutions. Inmates from correctional centers located near PCC are transported to PCC for their telemedicine appointments, instead of being transported to MCVH for follow-up appointments. With this change in inmate transportation, security and safety are more readily maintained, and it also decreases the need for additional correctional officers for transport and escort responsibilities. Currently this telemedicine program operates six four-hour sessions per month, and provides care for approximately 40 to 50 HIV-infected inmates monthly. From October 1995 to April 1999, 1055 telemedicine clinic visits with HIV-infected inmates have occurred through this collaboration between MCVH Infectious Disease Clinic specialists and the medical and nursing staff at PCC. Mr. Higginson can be reached at <[log in to unmask]> /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ ACTIVE TELEHEALTH PROJECT # 4: Distance Learning Network (DLN) by Eric Porterfield Since 1996, DLN has become the fastest-growing resource for live, interactive broadcasts focused solely on educating professionals from the mental health field. More than 40,000 psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, social workers, nurses and other healthcare professionals have viewed DLN broadcasts or accessed DLN programming via Mental HealthNet's on-demand Internet service. DLN offers mental health facilities the hardware (small 18" satellite dish and receiver) they need to receive programs free-of-charge. Once the hardware is installed, an unlimited number of healthcare professionals at that site may attend any DLN program. While most programs and credits are provided to subscribing sites free, some programs are require the site pay a nominal fee ($100-$200) in order to receive a broadcast, fulfillment materials ad credit. DLN provides CME, APA, NBCC and nursing credits for most of its programs. On occasion, social worker credit is available for taking part in DLN programs. For a list of upcoming broadcasts, or to request satellite reception hardware for a facility, contact Distance Learning Network at (800) 326-9166. /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ TELEHEALTH PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS: Updates American Nursing Association http://www.nursingworld.org/ Nursing World Website ATA Adopts Telehomecare Clinical Guidelines http://www.atmeda.org/news/list.html United States Distance Learning Association http://www.usdla.org/ Non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the development and application of distance learning. /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ VIDEOCONFERENCING RESOURCES Atlas - Market Place http://www.savie.com/market.html Who sells and what in the videoconferencing business Court Technology Vendors List http://www.ncsc.dni.us/ncsc/VENDOR/Vindex.htm Desktop Video Conferencing Product Survey http://www3.ncsu.edu/dox/video/ An excellent source of information about desktop video conferencing. The product information at this site is comprehensive and useful, and the site includes pointers to descriptions of desktop videoconferencing standards. Videoconferencing FAQ http://www.bitscout.com/faqtoc.htm Information for the growing number of individuals and companies interested in Desktop Videoteleconferencing. Videoconference Resource Center http://www.videoconference.com/ Information on desktop and roll-about systems, links to other videoconference sources. /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ TELEHEALTHNEWS REVIEW BOARD: Deborah Burton, M.A. <[log in to unmask]> Rob Glueckauf <[log in to unmask]> Leigh W. Jerome, Ph.D. <[log in to unmask]> Sunkyo Kwon, Ph.D. <[log in to unmask]> David Nickelson, Psy.D., J.D. <[log in to unmask]> Nancy J. Sharp, MSN, RN <[log in to unmask]> B. Hudnall Stamm, Ph.D. <[log in to unmask]> Mike Terry, Ph.D. <[log in to unmask]> TelehealthNews Editor/Writer Marlene M. Maheu, Ph.D. <[log in to unmask]> TelehealthNews Columnist Bob Pyke, Jr. <[log in to unmask]> _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ Disclaimer: The accuracy of any information presented herein cannot be guaranteed. Permission is granted to reproduce or distribute this newsletter in its entirely only, and provided copyright is fully acknowledged. Copyright 1999 by Pioneer Development Resources, Inc.