The island of La Palma lies just southeast of the coast of Morocco. Part of the seven-island Spanish-controlled archipelago called the Canary Islands, La Palma is a biosphere reserve with a population of nearly 86,000 people.
Island officials have been working with Cisco for a number of years to provide economic development through information and communications technology. The most recent result of that partnership, which is called "Project Antares," is Spain's first telemedicine service, powered by Cisco HealthPresence.
The telemedicine service connects The University Hospital of the Canary Islands in Tenerife, an island to the west of La Palma, with the General Hospital of La Palma. Tenerife has a population of over 900,000 and is the largest island in the Canaries.
Participants hope the telemedicine service will increase economic efficiency by ensuring that La Palma residents can receive medical services without having to travel to Tenerife. University Hospital physicians from the Pain Unit and the Neurosurgery Unit piloted the program with over 80 different consultations.
Of all of the patients, 90 percent said they would recommend the service to another patient. All of the physicians who participated said they’d recommend the service to a colleague.
"The service is finding excellent acceptance by the patients, who can access our specialists more often and with less waiting time," said Ignacio Lopez Puech, director of University Hospital. "The service also encourages close collaboration and a transfer of knowledge between the various medical teams, regardless of their location."
Cisco HealthPresence combines HD video and high-quality audio with third-party medical tools like stethoscopes, otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat) probes and vital signs monitors. Thanks to standard interfaces, secure patient information is transmitted between locations without significant delay.
The solution also takes advantage of electronic medical records (EMR). All data is stored securely in the patient's EMR so that physicians have real-time access to the information.
Cisco TelePresence EX90 equipment was used in the pilot stage of the program. However, Cisco officials point out that HealthPresence can be integrated with any third-party video terminal that supports the SIP/H.323 standard.
HealthPresence can also integrate with any laptop or mobile device by utilizing Cisco Jabber software.
"Cisco HealthPresence is an integrated communication and collaboration platform that makes medical care more accessible across geographies while being affordable," said Jesus Galindo, Cisco Spain's director of the Public Sector division. "It also increases the flow of information among physicians, allowing consultations to be redirected to less congested centers."
Edited by
Braden Becker
