| THE HOUSE CALL REDEFINED
American
TeleCare celebrates 10 years of video-based telehealth
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., (January 29,
2004) – Ten years ago, communities
were just beginning to be wired directly to the Internet. That
same year, the FDA approved a surgical laser procedure for correcting
vision problems, and a breast cancer gene was identified. Another
medical and technological breakthrough also was launched in 1994:
video-based home telehealth. Now, healthcare providers can make
a
house call at the touch of a button.
American TeleCare, Inc., unveiled the first video telehealth
unit 10 years ago, and, like the Internet and other medical advances,
it has continued to evolve into something that is improving the
lives of thousands of Americans. According to Waterford Telemedicine
Index,
the industry is expected to grow 40 percent annually until 2010.
As the leader in this emerging method of healthcare delivery, American
TeleCare has installed more than 95 percent of all video-based
home telehealth programs nationwide.
Without ever leaving the office or
clinic, doctors and nurses now can make personal "visits" to
patients, at home, using
state-of-the-art voice and video combined with patented peripheral
medical devices – such as blood pressure monitors, digital
stethoscopes and glucose meters – over a standard telephone
line.
Using American TeleCare's video-based telehealth systems, patients
are seen and heard. They can be evaluated visually and verbally,
then, in more detail by measuring heart, lung, bowel sounds, weight,
glucose, blood oxygen levels and blood pressure. High-resolution
video allows the clinician to view wounds to ensure proper healing.
The benefits of telehealth are realized
by all those involved with the process – from patients
to doctors to insurance companies. In addition to avoiding emergency
room visits and unnecessary
clinic visits, this easy-to-use system offers patients and those
caring for them the benefit of increased independence and improved
compliance with their care plan.
"Our primary goal is to ensure that this is a positive experience for the
patient," said Randall Moore, M.D., American TeleCare CEO. "We're
consistently hearing from patients how telehealth has positively impacted their
lives. It's especially dramatic to hear of patients who go from 15 hospital
visits in a year before they were using our system to zero hospital visits in
the year since they've been using telehealth."
Patients aren't the only ones reaping the rewards of immediate access
to care, early detection and convenience that telehealth provides. Telehealth
allows doctors and nurses the flexibility of scheduling personal patient visits
without leaving the office, which increases productivity and the number of
patients that can be "seen" each day. Healthcare personnel also
cite their ability to spend more quality time with patients and can more frequently
monitor and accurately adjust their patients' care.
In the past 10 years, telehealth has grown from an industry used
primarily by home health agencies to one that now is impacting
integrated delivery
systems and disease management companies. One reason for this expansion
is the financial
benefit that telehealth offers to providers.
As healthcare expenses continue to rise, there is significant
pressure on healthcare providers to lower costs, maintain quality
of care and
increase patient satisfaction.
In order to meet these challenges, more and more healthcare systems
are maximizing
their human and capital resources through the use of telehealth technologies.
Telehealth and American TeleCare solutions are increasingly recognized
as preferred
solutions to the increasing cost and quality of care challenges
faced by health care organizations.
American TeleCare is dedicated to improving outcomes while lowering
health care costs and has been since its formation in 1993. American
TeleCare
provides technology-enabled patient care management solutions, featuring
live audio/video/data
communication and integrated medical peripherals. American TeleCare's
telehealth solutions enable remote, real-time clinical interactions-
resulting in increased efficiency in patient care delivery, improved
outcomes and increased
patient and clinician satisfaction while lowering costs. For more
information, visit www.americantelecare.com or call 800-323-6667. |
