| AMERICAN TELECARE® TO
PROVIDE TELEHEALTH TECHNOLOGY FOR GROUND-BREAKING DIABETES RESEARCH
BY IDEATel CONSORTIUM
Major Diabetes Study Re-selects American TeleCare as Technology
Provider
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., (November 30,
2004) – American TeleCare,
Inc., was re-selected by the Informatics for Diabetes Education
and Telemedicine (IDEATel) Consortium as the primary telehealth
technology provider for another four-year, $4.5 million project
serving rural and inner-city New York residents with diabetes.
The IDEATel project is the largest telemedicine research study
ever funded by the federal government with over 1,600 patients
to date randomized into the study. The project originally began
in 2000 to study the efficacy of telemedicine in improving patients'
quality-of-life and reducing overall health care costs. Because
of the initial success of the project, Congress extended the study
for an additional four years.
"With telemedicine, we are giving patients the tools they
need to take control of their diabetes and take better care of
themselves through monitoring, access to information and education," said
Steven Shea, M.D., Chief, Division of General Medicine at New York-Presbyterian
Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, the Hamilton Southworth
Professor of Medicine and Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia
University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the project's
Principal Investigator. "We're delighted to continue our relationship
with American TeleCare as the project's provider of home telehealth
technology."
American TeleCare unveiled its first
video telehealth unit 10 years ago and has continued to develop
and enhance this innovative
technology that is improving the lives of thousands of people throughout
the United States and Canada. Now, without ever leaving the office
or clinic, doctors and nurses can make personal "visits" to
patients, at home, using state-of-the-art technology which simultaneously
transmits voice and video combined with clinical data streams from
medical peripherals – such as blood pressure monitors, stethoscopes
and glucose meters – all over standard telephone lines.
"It is an honor to be an integral part of the largest ever
federal telemedicine research study," said Randy Moore, M.D.,
CEO of American TeleCare. "What pleases us most is the positive
impact telehealth has on patients. For those living with diabetes,
this technology can give them the tools to take control of their
disease."
The diabetes telemedicine program is a collaborative effort led
by New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center,
the Joslin Diabetes Center and State University of New York Upstate
Medical University Syracuse, NY), the American Diabetes Association
(ADA), Harlem Hospital Center, the Harlem Renaissance Network,
Arnot Ogden Medical Center (Elmira, NY), Olean General Hospital
(Olean, NY), Samaritan Medical Center (Watertown,NY), Hudson Headwaters
Health Network (Glens Falls, NY), the Hebrew Home for the Aged
at Riverdale, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
American TeleCare is dedicated to
improving outcomes while lowering health care costs and has been
since its formation in 1993. ATI
provides technology-enabled patient care management solutions,
featuring live audio/video/data communication and integrated medical
peripherals. ATI'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. |
